Chapter 1033: A Turtle, A Mammoth and a Toad, walk onto a ship…
At around the same time a zako was getting man handled…
[Ugh…]
[Hurricroak…what…are…you…doing?]
[Dying of boredom.]
[And that’s why I’m reading a book up here.]
When Zhen Liu assigned Hurricroak, Frosttusk and Spring Brawler to guard the ship, the trick knew that this was probably going to be the most boring assignment in their existences.
Undertow was built inside of a walled harbor, behind a series of defensive and camouflaging arrays, meaning that the chances of malefactors, monsters and or anything remotely dangerous coming and attacking the ship was less than zero.
There was a chance of internal sabotage, in the form of extremist citizens, but with the information they were receiving from the others and Zhen Liu, suggested that the people of Undertow would rather hide behind their doors than try to fight or sabotage.
And to make matters even more boring, the soldiers that Zhen Xun Tian brought along with her had just been given proper lodgings in the form of an old looking army barracks that was surprisingly clean after all these centuries.
Either way, this boiled down to the kaijin left in the ship having nothing to do, nobody to watch or mess with, and the chances of them getting them to do anything interesting was close to nil.
Which is why, at this moment in time, Hurricroak was laying face down like a bored child on the ship’s deck, Spring Brawler was reading a chapter book bigger than a child’s torso and Frosttusk was just…vibing.
The icy mammoth kaijin was used to bein slow and sedentary, so he was the least affected by all of this ennui.
[You…know…that’s…bad…for…your…face…will…leave…bruising…]
[Frosty buddy,] Hurricroak replied while lifting her face off of the ground. Which was sort of redundant given their ability to communicate telepathically.
[I’m pretty sure none of us have any blood vessels that can be be bruised in such a manner. Well, I’m pretty sure I don’t have any.]
[Well none of you might, but I have definitely bruised myself before.]
[What the-WHOA!]
[Incoming turtle.]
[Oh…hello…]
Much to the surprise of Hurricroak, Tortallion had suddenly decided to appear from the subterranean heavens and floated down on to the deck of their ship. Unexpectedly, she was the only one to react in such a defensive manner.
[What the hell are you…wait a minute, why am I the only one taking a fighting stance? What the fuck guys?]
[Tortallion’s job is to protect this place, so I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t sink us here when it easier to do so outside of the harbor,] Spring Brawler explained. [That and because this ship used to belong to him, his ladyship and his boys. Fairly certain that he wouldn’t try to destroy this ship if he could help it.]
[No…bloodlust…,] Frosttusk added.
[Oh…well, that’s disappointing.]
Seeing as nothing exciting was going to happen, Hurricroak proceeded to flop back down on to the floor while laying face down…again. Evidently, she had committed to being a living carpet at this point in time.
While this was happening, Tortallion couldn’t help but to develop a nostalgic smile on his face.
Already he could see the shadows of some of his old friends in these new fangled kaijin. In more ways than one.
[Well then, I guess I don’t have to make introductions since I know how the information sharing works…but still. My name’s Tortallion. Nice to meet you all.]
[I’m Hurricroak.]
[Spring Brawler for now.]
[Frosttusk…nice…to…meet…you…,] Frosttusk said while extending his arm for a handshake, which Tortallion accepted.
[Wait a minute…Spring Brawler for now?]
[I’m a proto-kaijin. I have yet to figure out what my core should be.]
[Ah…my lady never made any proto-kaijin during her time.]
[Really?]
[War time. No time to train troops and warriors,] Tortallion explained.
[Ah.]
[By the way, not to be rude,] Hurricroak interjected while keeping her face down on the floor,[but why are you here?]
[Partially due to nostalgia at seeing this old girl floating again,] Tortallion answered while patting the ship’s railing, causing it to hum with joy. [Partially due to wanting to meet the other kaijin that were created by this era’s lord.]
[Did Nepherage, Blazejudicator, Screamira and Razorstella leave a bad first impression?,] Spring Brawler asked while still reading his book.
[No, but they were hiding out inside of your lord and his cousins. How did you get them to agree to that anyways?]
[Funny thing about that…]
With that question serving as a leaping point, the kaijin of the Storm Queen and the kaijin of the current era managed to establish a friendly repertoire of sorts. Then again, it probably helped that Razorstella had managed to lay the groundwork by scouting ahead of everybody and making nice.
The conversation between the kaijin went on for quite some time, until Spring Brawler excused himself.
[Well, I don’t know about y’all but my ability to talk and read at the same time has reached its limit. I’m going to go into one of the lower deck chambers and try to finish my reading goals for the day.]
[Reading…goals?]
[To help me figure out what kind of core I want, I made it a personal goal to read a book a day until something clicks. So far…I’m thinking magic tricks.]
[Nice.]
Once Spring Brawler made his exit, a noticeable change occurred in the atmosphere surrounding Tortallion.
It took about a second for Hurricroak and Frosttusk to realize that there was something he wanted to talk about that he didn’t want any of the other kaijin to hear about.
Which got them a little…worried.
[Hey, Tortallion…you good buddy?]
[I am fine, Miss Hurricroak,] Tortallion nodded. [Just…may I ask, when and how were the both of you created? I know neither of you were protos, so…what lead to the two of you being born? As well as what are you two made of? I’m made from the remains of a giant turtle, obviously.]
[Oh, that’s it?,] Hurricroak answered first. [Welp, I have the distinction of being the first out of the box when the maestro broke through to Aether Master. I got called in the middle of a fight against this creepy pervert of a collector. Electrocuted his ass like he was on death row. As for my make, I’m made from the beloved instrument of an old musician. Not sure where he sourced the parts from though, given my…froggy complexion.]
[I…was…born…in…a…volcano,] Frosttusk answered. [Had…to…fight…a…giant…centisnake…machine. Made from… Fenrirtite…makes me…tough…but…very…cold…as…well.]
[Huh…that’s a lot more memorable than my own creation,] Tortallion commented. [I was born on a sunny summer day, on a beach…surrounded by the burnt and broken remains of the people I failed to protect on my first time at being alive.]
[Oh…]
[First go?]
After making this comment, Tortallion looked at Frosttusk and Hurricroak directly into their eyes and asked them a series of questions. A series of questions that the both of them hoped would’ve never been asked of them in this life.
[There was something extra mixed into your creations as well, right? Something that made you a bit tougher, a bit stronger and a bit wider than anticipated, right?]
[Yeah…]
[Why…do…you…ask?]
[Well, as is the kaijin way, I suppose it’s easier to get to the heart of the matter,] Tortallion eventually declared. [I need to ask because I will never get an opportunity like this again or anytime soon…how much do either of you remember?]
[How…much?]
[Like…whether or not we remember what we got for breakfast this morning?]
[No, not that,] Tortallion shook his head. [I mean…how much do either of you remember about being human before being a Kaijin?]
[O-oh.]
[Ah…]
Once that question was asked, it was like an entire pool of ice water had fallen on their heads…including the concrete.
Neither Frosttusk nor Hurricroak wanted to answer this strange query, hell, they figured that heart to heart they had back after that fight against the the Thunderscale Dragon Otter was going to be the last of it.
But alas, life had a tendency to be an ironic bitch.
Sensing the unwillingness of the two kaijin of the current era, Tortallion figured it would be best for him to start first.
[I…used to be a soldier. I fought in a lot of wars, killed who I was ordered to kill and saw things that broke me as a warrior and as a person. I eventually retired to a small fishing village in the middle of nowhere, living the rest of my days as a town guard. Ended up becoming the village uncle of sorts…until I wasn’t. Like a tidal wave, an army came and wiped away everyone and everything I cared for…]
