#[The Oracles] | brassclaws-of-oddworld (2024)

brassclaws-of-oddworld​:

When the lightening shot out at them, Shrykull definitely put the fear of the gods into every Intern. While some were lucky enough to have nearly been struck, others weren’t so lucky. Before their very eyes, they witnessed their fellow Interns getting vaporized into nothing when the lightening hit its mark. It wasn’t long before the enemy side made a full retreat, clearing out of the hallway they cornered the others in with Doctor Baren retreating lastly. As for Wayne, it was a game of cat and mouse now.

Kyung pounced on him any chance she got just to take swipes at him with her claws, barely missing counterstrikes as the Glukk revealed he still had one last means of defense, the talon rings around his fingers. Lucky for her, she was being watched over by Abe’s powerful companion, and so were the Loverboys who were now able to process all that they witnessed. As Shrykull approached them to ask if they were alright, Rocko nodded firmly, now knowing that the strange beings before them were allies.

“We’re fine, thanks to you all. Dio’s a little shaken up and so is Steele, but no one’s hurt,” The alpha answered on his comrade’s behalf, tilting his head pointedly at the more skittish of the quartet before loosening his tight grip on Steele’s leash as he cautiously approached Shrykull to lightly sniff at him.

The introduction was cut short, however, by another pained bellow from Wayne who was gripping his swollen forearm while desperately making his retreat out of the area. Rather than end things right then and there, Kyung had her back facing the rest of the group, watching Kestain struggle with sad*stic glee.

“Venus, come on! We need to get out of here!” Drogon called to Kyung, only to be ignored.

“Comrade, please, let’s go!” Dio pleaded when the other failed to get her attention, but the result was the same.

Rather than go back to her party, Kyung wordlessly started running out of the hallway, disappearing elsewhere into the estate in pursuit of Wayne. Much to the dismay of the Loverboys, she decided to go off on her own.

“Aaaaw, great…” Rocko deadpanned, using his two other arms to grab Drogon and Dio by the back of their pajama shirts to stop them from running off too.

*The Three Oracles broke the protective barrier once the coast was clear. Prez and Fute made a dive for Abe and checked on his condition. Making sure he was okay. Fute even offered the blue messiah a cup of water he had materialized for him.

*When Wayne’s cries of agony rung out, their heads turned to see what was going on. Pats took note of the way Kyung was acting… Oh Odd have mercy, he’s seen this side of Kyung before.*

“PREZ! AVERT ABE’S GAZE! He don’t need to see this.”

*Prez stared at Pats for a moment, only to be met with a firm nod. Prez gently pulled Abe close, positioned in a hug so he was staring behind them. He gently whispered the phrase “Don’t look, Abe. It’ll be okay.” Into his ear to try to drown out the sounds. He repeated the phrase over and over.

*Wayne broke free and made an escape, Kyung following soon after. Pats’ expression was full of worry and concern. He turned to face the party.*

“I’m goin’ after her. I’ve seen that state she’s in before. It’s too dangerous for anyone to go after her right now. Not unless ya wanna die or have a limb ripped off. Shrykull? Will ya give my brothers a chance and cooperate with ‘em to make sure Abe, the Jimseomi males, and the other slaves get outta here safely? I don’t know how long I’m gunna be. I need to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed in that state.”

The beast demigod stayed watching Kyung as Abe was being tended to. Being handed a glass of water, the Messiah carefully takes it with both paws, body shaky as he was still recovering from the panic moments ago. Slowly, Abe took in some of the water into his system, trying to calm his racing heart by breathing slowly.

Shrykull happened to notice what was going on too, causing him to wince with an “ooh”. That guy was definitely in trouble, but was Shrykull going to stop her? Hell no, in fact, he was simply going to allow her to continue. If anybody tried to plead for help from the demigod, he’d just shrug, tell them that it was not his problem that karma had this planned for them. Surely, they must’ve realised that bad actions will come back to haunt somebody, no? If not, well, they have learnt that now.

With Abe being shielded from the gory scene, the blue Mudokon hugged onto his relative after some more water, doing what his relative suggested to do. He could hear the noises, but he chose to focus on Prez’s voice instead, hugging him close. Abe remained shaky, though it was a good thing he was listening to everybody now, as this meant he was able to focus on something or act with flight if he had to.

As Pats said he was going to follow Kyung, a mysterious angelic white feather gently fell down from the ceiling, landing just before Shrykull’s legs. The demigod blinked, trying to work out what was going on. It was only when he saw a white angelic wolf not far away when he understood who it was. Shrykull nods to the wolf, to which, the wolf hurries away with Pats to stay with Kyung to make sure she was safe.

Meanwhile, this meant that everybody else had the chance to escape.

“Right, let’s get the rest of you out of here.”

*Prez and Fute nodded to Abe, and Fute grew a smile and chuckled sweetly*

“Lead the way, My Messianic Grand Nephew! Shrykull? I think you are the best one to handle any oncoming threats. We can step in to help if needed but Prez and I should stick close to the group and act as defense for your offense. We can soak up many of their attacks. We cannot be harmed by mortal means.”

*Prez patted Fute’s back and grinned a little in a playful fashion.*

“He’s volunteering the both of us to be mudokon meat shields”

“PREZ! THAT IS A VERY OFFENSIVE TERM FOR A RUPTURE FARMS MUDOKON! HOW DARE YOU! I EXPECTED THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR FROM PATS!”

*Prez began to laugh at his brother’s anger, Fute crossing his arms and huffing a bit in response to being laughed at. Prez turned his attention to Abe.*

“Sorry about the poor choice in words. If you want to wait for Seraphim and Pats to return with Kyung, we should probably move to a safer spot. Somewhere not in the open right now. We can hold the fort down while we wait to reunite. Do you want me to use my powers to scan around and see where there are still slaves while we wait?”

——————————————————————————

*Meanwhile, Seraphim was able to catch up with Pats quickly. As they began searching for Kyung, Pats gave Seraphim a warning.*

“Seraphim? When we find her, let me handle trying to snap her out of her state. I have seen this before. Theo woke up screaming in terror one night and it attracted everyone, including me and my brothers. He spoke of seeing a monsterous version of Kyung before him. No matter what he said to her, she did not hear it. The words that escaped her lips were considered ravings of a rabid creature. Anything that tried to touch her was ripped apart within seconds.

I have a feelin’ when we find Kyung, it’s not going to be a pretty sight. Keep your distance, alright kid? I’m already on…not so good terms with yer ma. I don’t wanna upset anyone else if you get hurt. Kyung can’t hurt me like she can with others. I know you want to help; think you can keep watch and make sure the coast is clear while I try to calm her down if needed?”

*When they finally arrived, they were witness to Kyung breaking each of Wayne’s fingers one by one. Repeating the phrase “Spare…don’t spare.” Pats stayed back and put his form in front of the wolf Seraphim, to protect him in case she turned on them.

*Then the horrific scream sounded as Kyung began to tear the glukkon apart. Wayne’s screams making it all the way to where Abe and co were holed up currently. Pats just stood back, waiting for a moment to go to her. When he assumed it was safe, he slowly started to approach Kyung. No sudden movements at all. He made eye contact with Kyung, unafraid that she was possibly still in her feral mode. He gave an unamsed “Tsk” and pulled out a scrap of cloth. He gently wipes some of the blood and tissue from her lips and cheek.*

“Ya…Ya got a little somethin’ on yer cheek there, hon.”

Kyung’s entire face was buried deep into her grotesque “feast” at this point, too busy ravenously taking bite after bite to notice she had company who witnessed the brutal execution until she reared her head. Pats may have managed to make eye contact with her, but it appeared that Kyung wasn’t quite back to feeling like herself yet. Unable to recognize it was Pats, all the Jimseomi felt was something nudge her lips and cheek. This only provoked a deafening roar from her gore-caked maw right into his face, most likely getting the Oracle’s face dirtied with blood droplets and meat crumbs in the process before she greedily dragged her kill a few inches away from him without taking her eyes off Pats’ general direction. From this action alone, it might’ve been a hint to the demigods that while she was still in her feral mindset, she wasn’t on the warpath right now.

Instead, she was acting as if she hadn’t eaten in a while. If the two demigods listened close enough, and managed to hear past her muffled and garbled snarling as she chewed, they may be able to catch the subtle rumbling coming from her stomach. Seemed like the Jimseomi had decided to play with her food before ultimately chowing down.