This is a short story that takes place during the events of the RP, before the arrival of the Ice Hunters.
Expedition of Exiles
When Leonard woke up, he was standing up. Odd. He thought. How could I have slept standing up? But as he looked down, he soon found out how that was possible: his lower body from his legs down was frozen in ice. Drops of water constantly trickled down to the floor, as he was situated right in front of a fire pit. Leonard remembered what had happened; he'd crashed his jet in the Northern Ice Regions while trying to pursue the drifting MMSC. Leonard had survived the crash, but was frozen solid as he tried to walk through the snow in the below-zero temperature. Now, it seemed someone had rescued him and was still thawing him out. Leonard looked around at his surroundings. He was inside a storage compartment of a vehicle of some kind, and there were three other beings in the room, each of them laying on the floor and just now waking up. One was a rodent-like mammal with wings. That one's eyes locked on to Leonard and seemed to glow with madness. Leonard quickly averted his gaze. Another being was a raven, and this one Leonard recognized; after he'd returned from Eagle Spire, Leonard had seen this raven, Rex, in the Lion Hospital during the Chima Civil War. Rex had had a bandaged up wing at the time, but now it seemed to be healed, as the bandage was no longer present. As for the third being...Leonard tried not to look at it. It was a brown, hideous arachnid with huge fangs, eight eyes, and four extra legs sticking out of its back. "THIS VEHICLE CANNOT HOLD ME!!" Shouted the winged mammal, wildly flying in circles around the enclosed space. "I MUST FULFILL MY DESTINY—!!" The creature flew face first into the wall and fell back to the floor. "W-where am I??" Asked Rex, looking around. "Is this another place in the Lion City?" "No..." Said the arachnid, scrambling to his two main legs and observing the Outland architecture of the vehicle's interior. "Has my tribe finally found me? Perhaps...perhaps...perhaps I can make a deal with them or something...after all, no one really like the original queen anyway, right?" "Hey, I remember you." Said Rex as he saw Leonard. "You were one of the lion soldiers who visited the hospital near the end of the Civil War." "Well, I'm a—I was a pilot." Said Leonard, looking down at the remaining ice still encasing his legs. "I think I was frozen a while. Can you fill me in on what happened after the Civil War?" Rex explained what the bats, scorpions, and spiders were, how they were evolved, the events of the Bat—Raven War, and the events of the Crawler Empire—Chima Alliance War thus far [the beginning of this story takes place before the battle of Rhino lands ended]. "So the Lion Army is helping the Rhinos fight the Crawlers, and yet the rhinos still aren't going to join the Chima Alliance?" Asked Leonard. "Oh, you're all awake!" A voice suddenly came from above. The four beings trapped in the vehicle looked up to see a bat standing in a closed space near the ceiling. "You're probably all wondering why you're here." Said the bat through the glass. "And the answer is: you're all expendable. Each one of you left your respective tribes one way or another at some point, weather by your own choice, or indirectly. Therefore, no one will care if any of you disappeared and never returned." "Thanks." Grumbled Leonard. "Look, I'm no longer with the Ravens, sure, but I'm trying to start a new life with the Lion Tribe," said Rex, "so can I go?" "No." Answered the bat. "King Bliston cares very much for the lives of his people, so I couldn't use any bats or scorpions for this scientific expedition." He looked at the other bat, twitching in the corner. "Except you, Braxin." Said the bat up high. "You became to mentally ill to be of use for the tribe. But you are still of use to me." "Excellent!" Said Braxin. "But where's Jonny? I need him to help you with ice..." The other bat ignored Braxin as he continued to ramble nonsensically. "And you, Sezrac," said the bat, "your tribe definitely won't ever let you back after what you did to the spider queen." "I did what I had to do." Said Sezrac, shrugging with his two arms and the four legs on his back. "I'm sure they got a new queen by now anyway. In fact, Doctor, I was actually looking to join another faction. I would've volunteered for this expedition if you'd approached me." "I see." Said the doctor. "I thought you might have been considering the Forgotten, and I wanted to get to you before they did." "THE ALBINO BEARS WILL COME!!" Shouted Braxin. "There may indeed be some truth to what you say, Braxin." Said the doctor, nodding. "We are currently in the Northern Regions. If there are any sentient beings out here, I will find and study them to determine if they are a threat to the Crawler Empire." The doctor addressed all four of his captives. "Braxin and Sezrac, I look forward to continuing to work with you two in the name of science and the Crawler Empire." Said the doctor. "Rex and Leonard, you two are free to return to the Lions after this expedition." "Fine." Said Rex. "Gives me an excuse to get away from the wars anyway." "Likewise." Leonard agreed. "Good." Said the doctor. "I am Doctor Benjamin, head scientist of the Bat Tribe, and I will be your leader in this expedition into the northern regions." Dr. Benjamin turned around and walked through a short hallway, presumably into the vehicle's control room. With a sudden lurch, the vehicle started moving downhill.
Great start, I just have 1 question, did you read some storys from the old LMB story section, because Braxin is very similar to another character, from a very famous story there.
Previously unseen slits in the walls opened to reveal glass windows. Those inside the transport looked out at the ice and snow all around. The region was filled with frozen lakes and a few mountains here and there. Presently, Dr. Benjamin stepped back into the closed platform above. "I've set the transport on autopilot." He explained, polishing his spectacles before putting them back on. "What kind of transport is this, exactly?" Asked Leonard. "I'm always interested in learning about new vehicles." "This is a Black Overwatch ground troop transport that I've repurposed." Answered Dr. Benjamin. "It has eight wheels, and enough room to carry twelve troops into battle, perhaps even more on the top floor hallway and cockpit. Commanders driving these used to step back into this platform to rally the troops with rousing speeches before opening those doors in the back and sending them into battle. The Black Overwatch forces have now switched to air transports, since these are so slow." Dr. Benjamin pressed a button on a control panel, and the wall directly beneath the platform opened, revealing a storage compartment. "In here, you will find gear and warm clothes to enable you to be in the outside climate without freezing." Said Dr. Benjamin. "Good." Said Leonard, kicking his feet to smash through the last bit of ice encasing them. "You will also find weapons so you can defend yourselves against any hostile creatures, if such beings exist here." Said Dr. Benjamin. He added coldly, "There is an electric device inside each weapon that will shock its user into submission if you attempt to use the weapon against your teammates." Braxin attempted to assault Sezrac as if in demonstration of this, and a blue electric shock came out of his weapon and rippled across him. Braxin fell to the floor. "It works." Observed Sezrac.
Braxin and Rex had both chosen black swords as their weapons. Leonard armed himself with a medium-sized sledgehammer, Dr. Benjamin carried a chi handgun, and Sezrac chose a brown scythe. Dr. Benjamin flipped a switch that opened the huge wall-sized doors at the back of the transport. The teammates flew and walked through the door quickly, and it was closed before the strong winds could blow a lot of snow in. With their coats, they were protected from freezing in the sub-zero temperatures. Dr. Benjamin came down a retractable ramp from the transport's front, below the square cockpit. The team got to work exploring the area, climbing hills, and taking samples of the rare white plants that scarcely grew in a few places. Whenever Braxin wandered too far off, Benjamin would keep him in check. With his scientific device, Dr. Benjamin took pictures of just about everything, typed detailed descriptions of all he'd discovered, and sent the information and pictures directly back to Black Fang Mountain via a wireless connection. "Even if I don't make it out of this region, my reasearch already has." Benjamin said, satisfied. "Let's hope we all make it back, Doc." Said Rex. "Doc Ben, I think I saw something moving on that mountain to the northeast." Leonard said, holding the binoculars Dr. Benjamin had provided." "Are you sure it wasn't simply whiteplant swaying in the wind?" Asked Dr. Benjamin. "No, sir." Said Leonard, shaking his head. "It looked like a bird of some kind." "We must go to that mountain!" Said Benjamin. "Let's fly!" Said Braxin, flapping his wings rapidly. "No, because Sezrac and Leonard can't fly, and I don't want to haul them up a mountain with ropes, nor do I want the team to be split up and possibly separated." Benjamin replied. "We go in the transport." "This thing can drive up a mountain?" Asked Sezrac, tapping one of the eight huge wheels with one of his back legs (which was wearing a glove designed to cover spider legs). "It seems there's a road carved into the slope of that mountain." Said Leonard. "Then what are we waiting for?" Asked Rex, flying back to the transport. "Let's go."
The road up the mountain was rough and bumpy. The repurposed transport rumbled along, causing Sezrac and Leonard to stumble around as Rex and Braxin hovered above. As they got close to the top of the mountain, Leonard saw something through a window: four bird-shaped jets of foreign design that seemed to be made partially out of ice. They were armed with small crystallized missiles, and they were heading right toward the transport from the side. The four missiles of one jet launched just as Leonard's teammates gathered around and looked through the window. "HOSTILE JETS!!" Leonard yelled to Benjamin in the cockpit. "MISSILES INBOUND—!" The side of the transport was exploded open, and Rex was sucked out into the high-altitude air, still clutching his sword. Leonard was barely holding onto the edge of the hole in the wall, the wind slamming his body repeatedly against the outside wall. Braxin was flapping his wings up and down while also holding onto the edge of the hole. "THE TIME HAS COME!" Braxin yelled. "THE ICE DWELLERS HAVE FOUND US!!" Sezrac had used a web to attach himself to the far wall inside the transport, and was constantly applying more webbing to it as the wild wind broke it apart little by little. The jet that had fired its missiles pulled back, as the other three jets flew around and around the transport, shooting it with ice blasts and missiles. Benjamin tried to blast the jets with the transport's turrets, but every chi pulse blast was frozen solid! An ice missile hit the cockpit, and Benjamin was sucked out into the air, his camera device smashing to pieces against the surface of the mountain. Good thing I already sent the data back to Black Fang Mountain. Benjamin thought as he spiraled through the air, but he then realized with dread that he hadn't been able to photograph these chi-evolved birds piloting the jets. The jets began targeting the cliff road below the transport, and it was soon shattered, sending the transport to its doom as it crashed down the mountain and the beings inside it scrambled to escape, only to be separated.
Great start, I just have 1 question, did you read some storys from the old LMB story section, because Braxin is very similar to another character, from a very famous story there.
Hmm, no I've never read any of the stories from the LMB story board. What was the story called?
Great start, I just have 1 question, did you read some storys from the old LMB story section, because Braxin is very similar to another character, from a very famous story there.
Hmm, no I've never read any of the stories from the LMB story board. What was the story called?
I'll repost it here soon, cause I have it archived but my pc broke, that's also why I haven't posted any new chapters of my story here, but it was called Purple Alligator Island.
I love the characters my favourite so far would have to be: Braxin and Sezrac. Braxin because he is great comic relief and reminds of another great story. And Sezrac is just the person of logic, he makes logical sense and does things the smart way.
The spy entered the large domed space between The Four Talon Towers, escorted by two Vulture guards. The spy took a breath out as he entered the throne room of Lord Vamprah. At this time, the leader and creator of the Brotherhood of Vultures was not sitting in his icy throne, but instead standing and looking out the wall-sized window behind the throne, with his hands clasped behind his back (one of which was made entirely of skeletal transparent blue ice). With his back to the spy and guards, Vamprah's one cybernetic, ice-infused rocket booster wing was visible in its entirety. The spy once again wondered how Vamprah had lost one of his wings, and hoped to someday find out. As usual, one of Vamprah's aids was standing at his side. "My Lord, your spy from the south has returned." Said the aid. Vamprah turned, staring at the spy with his yellow eyes. The crimson slits that were Vamprah's pupils locked onto the spy, and the spy found it difficult to maintain eye contact. Vamprah began making rapid hand and arm movements. "I told you, I don't know sign language!" Said the spy impatiently. Vamprah never spoke, in any of the meetings with his spy. The spy didn't know whether Vamprah couldn't speak, or simply wouldn't. "I will translate." Said Vamprah's aid, gliding up next to them. "Lord Vamprah says that he is angry with you." Great. Thought the spy. This animal had left his tribe fairly recently, and had, at one point, been abducted by the Brotherhood of Vultures in the Northern Regions. Vamprah had made a deal with the outcast: the outcast would become a spy for the Brotherhood, and would frequently report back to his new boss with information on the tribes residing in the inlands and Outlands, since a curse still kept the Vultures up north and prevented them from attempting to conquer the south. Vamprah had then sent the spy back to the south, and the spy continued to supply information to the leader of the Brotherhood. However, while in the south, the spy was kidnapped by Dr. Benjamin, and was one of four exiles to participate in Benjamin's expedition. The spy had kept his act up and didn't reveal anything about the existence of the vultures, but the expedition became problematic when Benjamin drove up one of the Brotherhood's outpost mountains, and the vultures had to intervene, regardless of the spy's safety. The teammates had been scattered, but survived, and the spy had been called back here to face Vamprah's wrath. "Look, I can expla—" the spy began, before being snatched and held up in the air by Vamprah's right arm (the non-frozen one). As Vamprah squeezed, bits of ice started to emanate from his hand and around the spy's neck. It was becoming hard for the spy to breath. "—I—I did—n't—bring—the explorers here!" Said the spy, gasping for breath. "Dr—Ben—jamin...made us go...I...tried to...deter them...from Ice Hunter territory!" Vamprah released his grasp, dropping his spy onto the icy floor as the spy gasped for breath and rubbed his neck, getting the ice off of it. Vamprah made several hand gestures, and then crossed his arms in front of his bulky trans-blue chi harness, glaring at the spy. "Now four southern beings other than you know of our existence." The aid translated. "They must not escape the Northern Regions to tell their tribes. The time has not yet come." "Can't you just freeze them and take them as prisoners?" Asked the spy, standing up. Vamprah made more gestures. "Deliver them to us, and we will freeze them." Translated the aid. "After the destruction of their vehicle, they'd eluded our search parties. At any rate, they must not return to their lands in the south with this information." Vamprah made more gestures as the spy was about to leave. "One more thing." Translated the aid. "Has anyone—part of the team or otherwise—suspected you of being a spy?" "Not at all." Said the spy proudly. "Everyone has fallen for my act. By the time anyone suspects anything, it will be too late for them. By the way, when will you be able to invade the south?" "After the curse is broken." Translated the aid as Vamprah made more hand gestures. "Soon, we suspect." "And, I trust you'll keep up your end of the bargain, yes?" Asked the spy. "Yes." Translated the aid as Vamprah once again made gestures. "When we conquer and freeze the tribes of Chima and the Outlands, we will spare your species, but freeze their current leader and install you as their new leader, and you will ally your tribe with the Ice Hunters." "Excellent!" Said the spy, leaving the throne room as the guards remained. "I look forward to the bright future of our tribes." As do I, my pawn. Signed Vamprah, sitting back in his throne. As do I...
By the time the team regrouped, the sun had set (though it had been mostly covered by clouds before), and the sky was now even more grey than it'd been before. Dr. Benjamin had had to search for the insane Braxin and bring him back. Now, the five of them stood on a frosty bluff far away from the mountain where they'd been attacked. One of the teammates suggested they go back to that mountain and try again, but Benjamin declined. "Their missiles not only destroyed, but froze." Said Benjamin. "Whatever those birds are, they could freeze us as soon as we got up there. However, while I was looking for Braxin, I found this." Benjamin held out an ice-covered, barely readable map of a building and its surrounding area, apparently to the northwest (the opposite direction of the mountain where they'd been attacked), at the edge of The West Sea. "If any sentient beings still live there, perhaps they can tell us what this new bird species is." Said Benjamin. "It's our only shot."
After losing their transport, the members of the expedition had no choice but to walk and fly all the way to the far west. As the sky became dark, they eventually made it to the building, which turned out to be a large prison of some sort, built precariously on the ice at the edge of The West Sea. The prison was decently tall, but it was clearly broken in some areas, and piles of rubble partially covered the medium-sized cracks in the walls. The prison seemed to be made of steel painted gold, but a lot of the gold paint was scratched off, leaving rough smears on the walls. The large front doors of the prison were locked. "Maybe this is where the criminal birds put the law-abiding ones?" Braxin suggested. Benjamin shook his head wearily and led them inside the largest crack, which they had to step through one at a time. As they walked through the empty, silent halls and stairways of the prison toward a single red light emanating from behind a door in the back of the second story, Benjamin noticed something above, and stopped his team from advancing. "What's the hold up, Doc?" Asked Rex. "Look up." Said Benjamin. As they all did as told, they saw a huge pile of icy boulders balanced precariously on the third floor above, just visible through a huge hole in the floor. A rope mechanism went across the floor of the hallway and up the wall. If the rope was tripped on or cut, the boulders would come crashing down. "Be careful." Benjamin advised, as he and Rex flew over the rope. Sezrac carefully stepped over the rope, but as Leonard was doing the same, Benjamin realized that Braxin hadn't flown over. "No—!" Benjamin started. "ENOUGH!! LET THEM EAT CAKE!" Braxin shouted, as he used his sword to cut the rope on the floor. The boulders came down and filled up that part of the hallway, separating Braxin from the others and burying Leonard before he could react. On the other side, Braxin flew out a hole in the wall, and flew away into the night, shouting and laughing maniacally. "No! We're trapped in this prison now!" Said Rex. "When I get my hands on that mental buffoon..." Sezrac snarled. "Well, we might as well keep advancing and see if there's an alternative way out of here." Decided Benjamin, after attempting to lift the boulders, but to no avail. They had lost most of their small chi supply in the transport, so neither Benjamin, Rex, nor Sezrac were powerful enough to lift the boulders. Unable to discover Leonard's fate, free him, or go out the prison the way they'd come, the three remaining team members had no choice but to advance forward. Although two of them would have to watch their backs, as one of these three was a spy for Vamprah and the Brotherhood of Vultures...
By the time the team regrouped, the sun had set (though it had been mostly covered by clouds before), and the sky was now even more grey than it'd been before. Dr. Benjamin had had to search for the insane Braxin and bring him back. Now, the five of them stood on a frosty bluff far away from the mountain where they'd been attacked. One of the teammates suggested they go back to that mountain and try again, but Benjamin declined. "Their missiles not only destroyed, but froze." Said Benjamin. "Whatever those birds are, they could freeze us as soon as we got up there. However, while I was looking for Braxin, I found this." Benjamin held out an ice-covered, barely readable map of a building and its surrounding area, apparently to the northwest (the opposite direction of the mountain where they'd been attacked), at the edge of The West Sea. "If any sentient beings still live there, perhaps they can tell us what this new bird species is." Said Benjamin. "It's our only shot."
After losing their transport, the members of the expedition had no choice but to walk and fly all the way to the far west. As the sky became dark, they eventually made it to the building, which turned out to be a large prison of some sort, built precariously on the ice at the edge of The West Sea. The prison was decently tall, but it was clearly broken in some areas, and piles of rubble partially covered the medium-sized cracks in the walls. The prison seemed to be made of steel painted gold, but a lot of the gold paint was scratched off, leaving rough smears on the walls. The large front doors of the prison were locked. "Maybe this is where the criminal birds put the law-abiding ones?" Braxin suggested. Benjamin shook his head wearily and led them inside the largest crack, which they had to step through one at a time. As they walked through the empty, silent halls and stairways of the prison toward a single red light emanating from behind a door in the back of the second story, Benjamin noticed something above, and stopped his team from advancing. "What's the hold up, Doc?" Asked Rex. "Look up." Said Benjamin. As they all did as told, they saw a huge pile of icy boulders balanced precariously on the third floor above, just visible through a huge hole in the floor. A rope mechanism went across the floor of the hallway and up the wall. If the rope was tripped on or cut, the boulders would come crashing down. "Be careful." Benjamin advised, as he and Rex flew over the rope. Sezrac carefully stepped over the rope, but as Leonard was doing the same, Benjamin realized that Braxin hadn't flown over. "No—!" Benjamin started. "ENOUGH!! LET THEM EAT CAKE!" Braxin shouted, as he used his sword to cut the rope on the floor. The boulders came down and filled up that part of the hallway, separating Braxin from the others and burying Leonard before he could react. On the other side, Braxin flew out a hole in the wall, and flew away into the night, shouting and laughing maniacally. "No! We're trapped in this prison now!" Said Rex. "When I get my hands on that mental buffoon..." Sezrac snarled. "Well, we might as well keep advancing and see if there's an alternative way out of here." Decided Benjamin, after attempting to lift the boulders, but to no avail. They had lost most of their small chi supply in the transport, so neither Benjamin, Rex, nor Sezrac were powerful enough to lift the boulders. Unable to discover Leonard's fate, free him, or go out the prison the way they'd come, the three remaining team members had no choice but to advance forward. Although two of them would have to watch their backs, as one of these three was a spy for Vamprah and the Brotherhood of Vultures...
Oh so your gonna isolate them each time, and its not Braxin because he flew out, so I'm betting on Rex, because that talk about becoming leader was very serious, and who else hates their leadership but Rex
Leonard had in fact survived the rock fall, but had been heavily injured and almost crushed by the boulders. He'd used his hammer to eventually smash through the boulders on one side, and came out on the side of the boulder pile Braxin had been on. Leonard limped out of the prison and proceeded to wander through the Northern Ice Regions, searching for any possible medical help, while being protected from freezing by his coat. Just as he was going to give up searching for help, Leonard saw a golden light from the south. When he limped closer to it, he found the Golden City of the Leopard Tribe, located in the Valley of Balance between the Iron Mountains and the Ice Region. As he came to the valley, he was helped inside the city by scouts, and taken to a hospital. There, after his wounds were tended to and bandaged up and he received hot chocolate, Leonard walked through the city on crutches. He was given an explanation of who the Ice birds were by the Leopard King himself, Leodus. "The Brotherhood of Vultures had allied with the Ice Bears to fight us Leopards." Leodus explained. "We tried to negotiate with them, but I realized that once Vamprah had allied with Icestrike, he was too far gone. They were too dangerous for us to let them stay in Chima, as they eventually began planning to conquer the other tribes after defeating us. So, with the help of the Phoenix and Tigers, we exiled the Vultures and Ice Bears to the northern wastelands. But the curse unintentionally caused them and their vehicles to be fused with the ice." Leodus took a breath. "I do not like to tell this story, as I am not proud of what we had to do to end the war. But it was the only way to stop their reign of destruction. You are not the first lion to come here to the Golden City, but I felt I only needed to tell you this story because you had seen the vultures yourself." Leonard nodded in agreement. Leonard told Leodus and the Leopards about Benjamin, Rex, and Sezrac, and asked them to keep an eye out for them. He also told the Leopards the same about Braxin. Unfortunately, Leonard, who thought the prison in the north was of Vulture creation, neglected to ask Leodus about it, as Leonard was unaware that the prison was built by the Leopards, and housed a very dangerous Ice Hunter criminal. Leonard ultimately decided to stay and live with the Leopards, at least for the time being, and he took relief in the fact that the Ice Hunters were unable to come back into southern Chima anytime soon...
