While their [Hosts] were in proximity, [Shaper] did a small bit of venting to [Default Compendium] about her host. [Default Compendium] in turn made her host put the Data to use. Thusly it was Tinkered into being, an odd Wraith, HNA and all.
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Welcome! I will give a small disclaimer, my writing style has been described as slow, so that is something to keep in mind. Beyond that, since Evolve wasn't able to develop a lot of its ideas fully, how the monsters exactly work and such so in this Quest is going to be different from what was shown in the game. Anything not actually correct for Worm, just assume AU or fanon has gotten to me.
Update speed, chapter length, and such is not guaranteed. (Slightly winging it, lol.)
Crossposted on Spacebattles, votes will be tallied together.
I awaken curled up, walls pressing against me on all sides, barely past the level of being cozy and into the realm of becoming uncomfortable. My legs and tail are all spun around each other, my spines pressed down against my back and all four of my arms bunched up to my chest. Despite the very slight unconformability, it is nice, like being squeezed on all sides. I am completely blind, but it doesn't bother me for some reason.
It doesn't take long for the discomfort to build, though, which is also accompanied by hunger. Not enough to be starving, but enough to feel like a hole has been torn in my stomach and everything I've ever eaten has fallen out.
Trying to open my arms is ineffective, the walls of my confinement only yield a little, so I maneuver one of my blade arms so that it moves under and past my shoulders and spears into the wall behind me, but it fails to break through. I manage to pierce the covering on the second attempt, before I can start to feel claustrophobic. With a sort of twisting motion, as much as I can in the cramped space, I manage to widen the breach enough that I can feel cold air on my back. Pushing and pulling myself, accompanied by a bit of thrashing, I manage to pull free of the prison. I can see, which is a nice development, looking at the structure I escaped from I recognize it as my egg.
I stretch out, enjoying the open space. Both my legs uncoil from my tail. My blade arms and my other set of arms with their four clawed digits spread wide. All six of my spines extend, pointing backwards, and start feeling the steady breeze that that is moving in a strange way. My mouth opens wide in a yawn, and both halves of my lower jaw spread wide as I do. Lastly, I pull myself off the ground, letting myself float on the natural energy radiating from it. Not feeling anything hurting, I start moving in search of food.
My hunt is cut short almost immediately as I properly take in my surroundings. My egg was placed in some kind of holder on an otherwise empty platform. The edge of the table is blocked by some kind of see-through wall, I test my blades on it, but I don't even manage to scratch it, though I can see imperfections in it, so it's probably a creation of some kind. Smelling doesn't give me any answers either, all it lets me see is the edges of this new prison.
Looking past the see-through wall, I find a room lacking any creatures but full of technology that when I focus my gaze on it makes my head hurt somewhere past my actual body and makes me start getting angry. Both of just make me more aware of how hungry I am. Beyond the technology though, the room hold little else of note; it is a lot larger than my box and I can see a door that other creatures presumably use, though it is kind of large. The whole place is lit by some strips of light on the ceiling that hurt to look at for more than a few seconds, something fake.
Turning my attention back to my featureless platform, ignoring my egg, I examine the see-through wall some more. It comes down right to the edge of the floor, so I can't slip my blades or claws under it to try and sneak under. A bit more than twice my height above me is the roof of the container, with a sort of grated tube in it, my spines tell me that is where the airflow is coming from. It is far too high up for me to reach, though, so trying to sneak through the vent isn't possible.
Part of me feels, anticipation, looking up at the grate and I quickly connect the dots. I am floating, so I know I can use the energy to move more, know it. But I am just too weak right now, not enough mass to try and channel the energy for more than the cushion between my vestigial legs and the smooth surface below me.
That isn't going to be for a while, longer, if I don't get something to eat. A circle of my trap gives me nothing new. It is about twice as long as me along the ground and a bit taller than that, so there is enough space for me to move without worry.
With nothing better to do, I have to plan, to try and figure out how I should proceed.
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For now at least, you are serving as the instincts for the POV creature. This may change, but it is the best way I've thought up to implement your control without letting you (directly) use your meta knowledge >: ) It also lets the creature start to develop its own personality if I end up going that direction.
Votes will be done in the approval style, where you can vote for more than one option that you like
What should you do?
[X] Hide in your egg. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving. Plus, this whole situation is new and weird, you don't like it.
[X] Remain patient. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving around.
[X] Continue to search for a way out, maybe try to reach the covered vent anyway?
[X] Hide in your egg. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving. Plus, this whole situation is new and weird, you don't like it.
[X] Remain patient. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving around.
[X] Hide in your egg. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving. Plus, this whole situation is new and weird, you don't like it.
[X] Hide in your egg. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving. Plus, this whole situation is new and weird, you don't like it.
What should you do?
[X] Hide in your egg. There is nothing you can do for now, no need to waste energy moving. Plus, this whole situation is new and weird, you don't like it. (7 Votes)
I come to the conclusion that I dislike this. The light never flickers and there are no clouds to block it out, there is no cover to hide under, there is enough space for now, but the more I circle the enclosure smaller it seems. The best option would be to just wait for something to change and not waste a bunch of energy trying to escape without a clear path.
I settle where I am, since the whole cage is uniform there is no need to find another spot. The attempt doesn't last long, though, the constant light coupled with the small internal urging that I am exposed and need to get to cover so that I am not ambushed while resting. Despite that I keep trying for a bit longer, but knowing there is nothing else around, and if I can't get out then nothing can get in, doesn't stop my senses from going haywire every time the vent changes rhythm.
Lacking other options, I return my attention to my egg. Part of me feels… Shame? At returning to it, but it is literally the only thing in the chamber with me, and staying at high alert for even this short amount of time is starting to wear me down. I try to slither inside, but I don't fit, which doesn't make any sense because I haven't eaten anything to get bigger yet. The thought of eating anything just reminds me of my hunger, but I manage to push it aside with a bit of effort, since I can't hunt right now. Focusing on the problem of the egg being too small for me, I am a bit stumped, it might be strong enough to force my way into but doing so might break it more and the thought of not having a single piece of cover makes me viscerally upset, so I hold off on that solution.
Running through anything that might have changed, I can't figure it out until one of my knees brushes the ground from my agitated motions. Examining myself for a few seconds, it clicks. I'm hovering! The force of my floating is keeping me out by making me, in effect, bigger. Stopping my connection with the energy of the world feels… unnatural. It isn't something I am supposed to do, but I am also not supposed to be in a box. Slowly cutting off the connection, I lower to the ground and use my claws to pull myself back into my egg, this time fitting.
The space is still small and tight and uncomfortable, but despite that I can feel myself relaxing. The cramped feeling of curling in on myself to such a degree is infinitely preferable to being so exposed. Twisting so that I can look out of the opening I rest, my awareness shrinking.
Time passes. More time passes, though how much I am unsure. Eventually, I can hear sounds drawing closer to the room's door. The small hole that I broke out of is angled away from the door so whatever is approaching can't see that it is open, though I can't see the creatures either. So, since I can't smell past the see-through walls, and I am facing the wrong way, I focus on my hearing to try and gather information.
I hear the sounds of motion, which grow louder as the door is opened. The door opening lets me hear a rhythmic set of noises from what seems to be two separate creatures, though probably similar? I hesitantly identify it as communication even though I have no idea what they are saying, I can still tell tone. If that is something that the creatures use in a way I can understand, that is.
"An egg? That's what your latest fugue led to?" Caution, uncertainty, disappointment.
"Yep!" Excitement.
"What is it?" Caution, uncertainty, apprehension.
"No idea!" Joy, excitement.
"What do you mean you have no idea?" Worry, apprehension.
"Exactly that, I don't have a clue." Exhilaration.
"You know there is a reason that we don't mess with bio-tinkering—" Worry, apprehension.
"No, no, no. You don't get it. I have no idea what it is, it's something completely new!" Exhilaration, anticipation.
"What are you saying?" Confusion.
"This is a second chance! If I can take some accurate readings and manage to align with whatever exotic energy it seems to be channeling, we have a second chance at everything! In order to use it I would have to make new wires, new circuit boards, new batteries. Hell, I would have to make new software to read the exotic inputs! Everything would be brand new! A fresh start!" Exhilaration, anticipation, relief, want, longing.
"The only thing is that I don't have the stuff to get a proper scan. I already built something that would have been able to, my smart spectrometer." Anticipation, disappointment, worry.
"Let me guess, it was snatched up when the Protectorate raided our last lair?" Contemplative.
"Yeah, so we would have to heist the Rig." Disappointment, worry, anticipation.
"Fucking Panacea. Why did she have to be at the bank the one day we decided to rob it?" Anger.
There is the sound of rustling fabric before the pair fall silent for a few minutes.
"It's a pretty big egg, whatever's in there has got to be like half the size of a cat." Curiosity, worry.
"I've been taking some x-rays, it's actually a bit bigger than that. Not quite the size of a cat, but it is really curled up in there." Pride, curiosity, worry.
"When do you think it's going to hatch?" Curiosity, caution.
"At any point now, there is basically no more room in the egg for it to grow. So I caught a rat and was going to toss it in." Excitement.
"How do you know what it eats? I thought you didn't know anything about it." Curiosity.
"Well. Just look at the egg, it just screams carnivore." The emotion for this set of sounds isn't something I understand, if there is one, anyway.
"Fair enough. If you toss it in, do you think it'll wake up?" Curiosity.
"One way to find out!" Excitement, anticipation.
There is a harsh scraping sound of metal on metal, followed by a small squeaking and hissing sound. There is a different metal on metal sound, followed by the squeaking getting louder. The creatures say something more, but it completely bypasses me as I focus on the new sound, the one I can smell. It smells like food, like prey.
There is a small smack noise as it falls from the vent and into the same chamber that I am in. My sense of smell is almost enough for me to watch as it moves around, inspecting the area itself.
I want it. Its feet start carrying it as it scurries around the cage, and I am so hungry, and I want to hunt. But I am aware that the two creatures from before are still here, probably, and I am not starving, so I can probably hold off eating. Maybe. Temporarily anyway.
Do you emerge for the rat?
[X] Yes, you need to eat.
[X] Wait for a few minutes, but if the creatures don't leave then hunt.
[X] Wait for the creatures to leave, they have too soon, right? (Votes are done in the approval style, where you can vote for more than one option that you like)
I manage to hold out for all of a few seconds, the smells and sounds of the prey completely dominating my attention. I know the two creatures are still there, I do, but if I can't get through the see-through wall then they shouldn't able to either. The question on how my prey managed to get in bubbles up in the back of my mind, but it is less pressing than hunting, than eating.
Slowly and as silently as I can, I pull myself out of my egg. Letting the energy stream back into me, allowing me float again, feels lovely. A sense of relief that falls to the wayside as I take a deep breath. I can hear the two creatures beyond my cage talking, but I don't even spare them a glance, entirely focused on cataloging the smell of my prey.
Keeping close to my egg, I try to keep hidden behind it as I peek around the side to get a look at my cellmate with actual vision and not just my sense of smell. It is covered in dark fur, scurrying around on four shortish legs tipped with small claws. It is about half my size, which means it shouldn't be too hard to kill. Even with that, though, I keep watching for a bit longer, trying to see if it has any hidden abilities. My stalking is forcefully wrapped up rather quickly as my stomach keeps screeching at me to just eat it already. I wait for it to turn it's back to me, seemingly not noticing me yet, and start examining the see-through glass on its own.
Keeping low to the featureless ground, I coil myself together, tails spinning around each other, my blade arms press to my flanks as my clawed arms pulled up near my chest, and my spines pulled flat to my back. Slowly gliding towards the fuzzy thing I spot its snout is twitching, smelling, my spines can feel the way the air moving. Towards it. Meaning it can smell me.
As soon as that realization hits me, I waste no time and spring forward. The distance is a bit too great for me to properly pounce, but I was ready for a fight and whatever this thing is, it clearly wasn't. Still, I did just hatch, so my first strike isn't lethal. Bringing one of my blade arms down, I cut deeply into it's side, causing it to hiss and shriek. It tries to claw back at me, making me swim out of the way and retreat a bit.
Looking at it, heavy breathing, sounds of panicked anger, the deep gorge in its side gushing out blood, I conclude that my strike actually was lethal, just not immediately. Floating back some more, I am content to wait for it to bleed out, no need to put myself at risk of dying if it is capable of retaliation. It drags itself further away too, its beady eyes locked on me and in turn my sight on it. A bit of time pass before it eventually collapses, signalling my time to approach.
Drifting forward, I can see that it is still twitching, so I bring one of my upper arms down spearing through its brain and putting an end to its struggles. Doing so does give me a brief jolt of pain as the tip of my arm hits the platform through the skull, but it is easily ignored as I gaze down at my meal. Everything else narrows, the racing of my heart from my tiny hunt, the air moving across my spines; all of it pales to the food right in front of me.
Positioning myself above the corpse, I waste no time in devouring it. My jaw splits open, and I pull energy from the area through the body and into my mouth, breaking it down into a nutrient mist that I eagerly channel into my gullet. A pinkish glow starts forming under the body, a side effect of the gathered energy, the carcass starts to rapidly lose cohesion, becoming a pile of nutrient-deprived guts and bone. It is euphoric, the feeling of feeding, of my stomach filling, the taste of fresh protein.
All too soon the prey is picked clean, the energy naturally dispersing and leaving me still hungry. It's better now, I'm not constantly having hunger gnaw at the edges of my thoughts, but I am nowhere near full. Shifting the pile of gore around a bit with the tips of my claws I don't see any untouched sections, which I knew there wouldn't be, but I still had to check just in case there was a bit more I could eat.
Now that I am no longer focused solely on eating something, all my instincts return to the forefront of my mind, screaming that I am being watched, that I am exposed. Quickly darting back to my egg, I huddle behind it, remembering the direction the sounds came from earlier. I start listening, to try and tell if they are going to attack themselves, maybe the meal wasn't a meal but a way to communicate? I don't know, I wasn't thinking, I just needed to eat and with something in my gut, worry is what starts to prod at my thoughts.
"Well. Damn." Surprise, worry, fear, curiosity.
"Yep." Surprise, worry, fear.
"Leet. Why did you make a female xenomorph?" Disappointment, curiosity, mirth.
There are some strange sounds, and communication from both sides faster than I can even guess at the maybe emotions behind them. It slows down a few moments later before coming to a stop entirely.
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I had no idea how to really describe how a Wraith eats, so hopefully my description works! ^-^
What should you do now?
[X] Resume hiding in the egg. It is the only cover and being so uncovered is bad.
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it sneakily.)
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it brazenly.)
[X] Write-In: (Note: Write-In's must be simple in direction or concept. Your votes are instincts, not complex thoughts.) (Votes are done in the approval style, where you can vote for more than one option that you like.)
Better question, can we evolve into a Waterwraith? I wanna chase fools with a pair of stone cylinders!
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it sneakily.)
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it sneakily.)
Better question, can we evolve into a Waterwraith? I wanna chase fools with a pair of stone cylinders!
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it sneakily.)
This is a page that I will try to keep up to date is so that both sites are able to keep up with answers I give in the threads about various things. This is more for general questions and not really chapter specific questions.
Please note, though, due to the nature of Quests some answers may become out of date as votes come in and my plans change.
Q: What happens if there is a vote tie?
A: I will flip a coin or roll a random number generator.
Q: When is the Quest taking place on the timeline?
A: Chapter 1 started some time between Taylor Hebert's trigger event and Gestation 1.1. You do no yet know the exact date.
Q: Can we understand what is being said?
A: At the time of writing this, Chapter 3–4, you cannot understand human speech.
Q: Are we going to get the powers that the Wraith is able to in the game?
A: Maybe, but more than likely yet. I am still working how I want your growth to work, but you gaining those abilities is part of the plan.
Q: What do we look like?
A: I've tried a few times to link images a few times but both SB & SV hate me, so I would say just look it up, your shape is the same as from the game, though you are currently (Chapter 3-4) much, much smaller.
Q: How big is the Wraith in Evolve?
A: Rough measurement would make it about 19'5" at 'Stage 1' and you can certainly get to that point in this Quest too! You just have to survive.
Q: Are we sentient enough to trigger?
A: Yes. Though if you will or not isn't something I really have direct control over by the nature of Quests.
Q: As you upgrade and/or grow stronger, will your appearance start to change?
A: I don't currently have any plans for something like that, but if enough people would like that, then I don't see the harm in your appearance starting to reflect the changes.
Q: Can you eat powers and gain them?
A: No, you will have your own method of growing stronger.
Q: What's the rule on found food?
A: Right now you have to have a fresh kill in order to feed, like dead within the last few hours fresh.
Q: What does a Wraith even look like?
A:
Q: Why is the Abnormal Ability tree so expensive to open?
A: To make me feel better about putting more powerful and less thought out abilities in it.
Alright here's my question, as we get new abilities will we start looking different? Like let's say we devour a guy who has spikes in his back, or wings or hell more stronger muscle cells. Would we physically look different at that point?
[X] Observe the pair of creatures on the other side of the see-through wall. They are probably the ones that made this place, so learning about them would be for the best? (Try to do it sneakily.)
God but i miss Evolve. Such an awesome concept, dead as a door ail these days.
Extremely happy to see you bring an idea like this to life boss!
Alright here's my question, as we get new abilities will we start looking different? Like let's say we devour a guy who has spikes in his back, or wings or hell more stronger muscle cells. Would we physically look different at that point?
Not directly. I don't really have any plans on making your appearance change a lot, but if people generally want it, then I don't see the harm in it. I am currently designing my own loose 'upgrade tree' that you'll be following along, though, so it wouldn't really matter what you ate and would more follow the upgrade lines. You eating something isn't going to give you it's abilities, though, so just because you ate soemthing stronger than you, you're not going to immeditly get stronger.
Edit: I misread your question but managed to answer it anyway, please ignore the rambling additions
