By David C. Daoust
Margo had slipped, almost fell– Just off balance enough to spill the immobile bunny from her arms. This of course was in reaction to the oversized creature they had come upon. Or rather the creature that had come upon them. For surely had they known that this particular outcropping of rock, was in reality some strange alien creature, probably meant to be native of this strangely fictitious game-world, Margo would not have been so bold as to lean against it.
She put as much distance from it as she could, despite the craggy ground tripping her up… yet with a sudden earth-shaking rumble, she went down hard.
The size of it was beyond reason. Margo was forced to scurry back like a crab, as the things massive elephant like feet wheeled its hippo-like body around. The similarities to a pachyderm ended there, as the six legs, that propped the massive beast up, proved it was a far cry from any mammal evolved in nature. It was covered in course hard skin, more rocky than leathery, skin that seemed to crumble and crinkle with its movements. Its head was like a truck in and of itself, with a massive ‘shovel-horn’ standing erect from its nose.
The very earth beneath her seemed to rumble with its movements.
The immediate problem– the bunny was lost beneath!
Margo’s eye’s bulged as the massive padded foot came down like a hammer, seemingly right atop her tiny furry friend.
Luckily, once the thing took its next step, she found the bunny just safely beyond— all some sort of optical illusion. And yet Margo’s sudden surge of relief, was once again replaced with awe and fear, as the next foot, seemed to be angling, in such a way, that the first instance was a mere premonition for what was surely yet to come.
Yet again, the immobile bunny escaped being smooshed by sheer happenstance.
“Well, come on!” Margo, back on her feet, dared not approach, “Get out of there!”
“I can’t! I don’t know how!” shouted the bunny, whom surely figured out how to quake in his boots, then and there, yet could not seem to figure out how to hop!
“Just push really hard,” Margo called to the small bunny, both completely dwarfed by the stomping monster. “Push really hard with your hind legs!”
The creature itself was busy munching away at the surrounding terrain, literally crunching rocks in its maw; it seemed completely oblivious to their presence.
Suddenly, the bunny actually moved– having forced all his strength into his hind legs, his back end suddenly launched into the air, which would be great, but his front half did not play along.
He had successfully performed a somersault!
“I did it! I moved…” the bunny cheered as that last leg came down upon him.
The sudden flip, while being a complete revolution, had landed him right in the path of the creatures next step.
Margo could not pretend to be surprised; she had seen it coming… twice! Had it only been a normal, four-legged creature, he would have surely been in the clear. She hardly knew what to do, or what it entailed for her small friend. Dicey would surely protest– probably blame Margo. She would have to try and break it to her gently, though the disembodied bot could not puzzle out how…
At last, the creature moved again, grazing the surrounding jagged rocks as though it was some great field of grass. Indeed, this time it was not an optical illusion, the bunny was flat as a pancake. Margo could make out an eye, it seemed to blink cartoonish-ly, and a muffled protest could be heard, vaguely, as she tried to figure out how to collect him.
It was a fine mess; one Margo could surely do without. Luckily, the plan to find Harper suddenly came to fruition, as the in-game version of the Spider-mecha, appeared in the skies above.
Margo found herself excited, and welcomed the help! That is before it became apparent that Margo was not what the spider-mecha was there for…
The over-stylized bio-mechanical mecha swooped down upon the very creature that had flattened the bunny! This sent the beast into a bit of a rage. It thrashed and fought like a bull trying to throw a rider. Not to mention all the other outcroppings of rock, showed their true nature as a herd of Shovel-horns, and stampeded from the vicinity.
Margo found herself on her backside once again. More terrified than ever, as not only did the world seem to violently tremble, that constant loop of music, changed to a much more dramatic one. The score was heightened, menacing even, as the spider-mecha wrestled the massive beast to submission.
The onlooking bot could see as the long tentacles erupted from the spider-mecha, drilled down into the massive Shovel-horns skull… Moments later, all went still as the beast was suddenly wide-eyed and docile. There was a flash of light around the spider-mecha, accompanied by a cheerful burst of fan-fair as the combat track ended in victory.
Margo knew enough to know, that Harper had just gained a skill point. Really, that was all the gamer-girl needed from the action. The tentacles released and the music went silent for just a moment, before it started up the normal background music.
Margo was back to thinking everything would be okay… despite Harper having flown off without ever noticing her.
That is, if the dazed Shovel-horn did not suddenly rock back, and sit on Margo as well!
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