ic Belly of the Beast

[Azuth65]

As Ahab charged blindly past a strike from her schoolmate and more or less at her, she floated a few yards to the right and with an effort of will reached out to the popcorn machine once more and flung it at the mad captain.

 

"I know of your ship because you're the main character from a one-hundred and sixty year old novel.  Fun fact, in the novel on this world it doesn't end well for you or the Pequod.  But," she said interposing the machine between her and Ahab once more, "I'm open to discussion on nineteenth century literature required in American English classes if you'll clam the hell down."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Ahab shielded himself, blocking the flying popcorn machine, but he stopped in his tracks, simply staring in the direction that he thought Gauss was. He was sort of right, too, only staring a few feet to the left of her. "I am in a book?" He seemed utterly shocked by the relevation, not entirely unlike one might expect. His tone was softer, though not by much. "... It has already ended badly, girl. But someone has to stop that whale, before it destroys everything." Raising his right hand above, he slammed it hard into the ground beneath, which quickly gave way, letting him drop into darkness of the cellar below. 

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan frowned at the escape. Not really what he would have prefered to happen, but at least Ahab was away from this place. He flashed one of his wide grins to Selena, flying around the room past her. "Try to keep up!" There was a bit of a challenge to his voice as he continued, flying straight into the hole that Ahab had created. To be honest, Pan wasn't even aware that this place had a basement, but well, it seemed that he had something more to learn. And he would really like to ask Selena about those others books. Honestly, if he wasn't as unique as he had thought, and other people from his world were immortalized in books in this world as well... well, Pan wasn't quite sure what it meant, but it had to mean something.

 

As he descended, he found the basement lit. A large open space, filled with various props from a number of promotions through the years. Ahead, he could hear the noise of Ahab smashing through walls in his bid to escape. He could catch up, of course, but he waited for Selena to follow. "Anything else exciting about Ahab in his book, then?"

[Azuth65]

Giving chase towards the mad captain, her schoolmate close behind, she called out, "Well, I mean his ship was smashed, all of his crew minus Ishmael dead, and Ahab himself gets caught in the line of his harpoon and drowns when the whale dives.  Now, I have a question for you.  What.  Did.  You.  Do?  Aside from how pissed he was to see you here, the details might be something we can use to get him to stop breaking things."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan shook his head sadly, before flying after Selena. "Something like that happened to this Ahab, but he did not die. He came back, determined to kill the Whale, and now look at him. Completely consumed, thinks of nothing else." He paused, while he dodged around a column. "But to be fair, that Whale is quite dangerous, and I have seen the destruction it can cause." 

 

He frowned a bit at Selena's question. He had kind of hoped that she hadn't caught on to that bit, but maybe he should come clean? "Ah, nothing, nothing. I was completely innocent!" No, not quite, of course. There was a crash from in front of them, and the light from the street lamps poured in. Whatever he had done, Ahab had managed to smash up to the street from the basement. Pan gave another pause, before finishing his reply. "I might have stolen a rather powerful artifact that Ahab wanted, to make sure that he did not end up using it for anything too bad? And then dropped it into the ocean while taunting him, before flying off? Leaving him stranded on a deserted island? Honestly, it is nothing major! He is clearly overreacting!"

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Ahab continued running through basement, smashing through anything in his path, while Gauss and Forever Boy followed. Finally, he reached a wall, but rather than wait, he moved up, smashing straight through it and up into the street. For a moment, he simply stopped. All the lights, all the people. "What is this cursed place?" he let out, as he stared out, before he inhaled and smelled something, a grim smile appearing on his lips. "The sea!" He started running, heading towards the nearest water as fast as he could. Still, it would not take much for either Gauss or Forever Boy to catch up.

[Azuth65]

"No, none of that," Gauss snarled as Ahab burst into the road.  The obsessed captain had taken hardly more than a few running steps before suddenly he found his various metallic bits and pieces unwilling to carry him forward.  Her eye glowing brighter than it usually did, flaring each time he flexed and attempted to struggle against the pull of her powers.  Turning him around to face her, she floated forward, "Listen cabin boy, now would be a good time to lay down your harpoon and surrender.  Or, I find out how much like Frankenstein's monster you really are."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Brutal, but effective. Pan was not quite sure if he approved of the way that Selena was, for a lack of better words, manhandling Ahab around, lifting him off the ground in her attempt to catch him. No, the captain was certainly dangerous, and quite possibly not all there, but he was not evil. Still, restraining him seemed like the best choice, did it not?

 

While Ahab struggled and Gauss held him, Pan had other questions on his mind, anyway. He flew close to Ahab, but not quite close enough to be reached. "How did you get here? First me, then Sky-Pirates, and now you? What else from our world has come to the Earth?" He wasn't quite sure what Frankenstein's monster were. He would have to ask Selena about that.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Ahab snarled and struggled. He stared straight at Gauss, madness in his eyes. "Let me go, ya wench or I swear I will rip your arms from your sockets!" He snapped to the Forever Boy, the madness mixing with pure hate. "I know nothing of this world, Forever Boy! This world is madness! But I know that the Whale is out there!" Spit was flying from his mouth, as he struggled. Then his lips twisted into a wide grin. "And I shall find it!" With an almost supernatural show of force, he pulled free, somehow breaking through Gauss' hold on him. He landed heavily on the ground, then set off, leaping further towards the water, higher and faster than one would have expected given his frame.

 

It seemed the chase was on again.

Edited September 4, 2019 by RocketLord

[Azuth65]

It did not take long before Gauss had caught back up to Ahab, dodging no small number of vehicles along the way as she and Forever Boy chased the captain.  Once again her eye flared with violet energy as she raised her hands and reasserted her mastery of magnetism to take hold of his prosthetic limbs.  "I said, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

 

With Ahab firmly in her mental grasp she began rising up into the air, "We're going to have a nice, calm, nonviolent talk.  Or, I'm going to throw you halfway to San Juan, your choice.  Now, the whale, instead of screaming that it's here it how about telling us about it.  What makes it so special besides being white?"

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Ahab stared, wide-eyed as he was held in Gauss' grasp. "White? You believe that is all there is to the whale? Its color!?" He was almost frothing at the mouth at the thought. They were by the water now. As Gauss and Forever Boy questioned Ahab, they failed to notice something in the water. A shadow, moving forward with intent. 

 

"The whale's the Great Destroyer! Its killed men and women! Children! Whole cities! Only I can stop it! Only I can kill the beast!" 

 

Almost as if on cue, the shadow emerged from out of the water. It was monstrous. A whale-like creature, stark white, and yet not quite a whale. Its mouth was opened as it crashed onto the land, swallowing the group of three whole, before they had a chance to react.

 

Everything was dark as the group was tossed and turned inside the beast, before it retreated back into the water, leaving only shocked people behind.

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

All was dark inside the whale, when Pan woke up, groggily shaking his head. There were noises around him, everything seemed to be moving around. The whale was probably on the move. Why was it even here? It belonged on Neverworld, like Ahab... and him. He frowned as he stood up and raised his hand. Glowing Pixie Dust gathered around his hand, taking form into a glowing short sword that cast at least some illumination on the area around him.

 

Unsurprisingly, the area around him was rather organic. Fleshy pink walls, but not quite what you'd expect the inside of an actual living creature to look like. Not that it was too surprising, given its home. All in all, a fleshy room, with some water next to him. Then he couldn't see further in the dim light.

 

And there, lying next to him! Selena! Quickly kneeling besides her, he shook her. "Wake up. I think we are inside the whale." Ahab was nowhere to be seen.

[Azuth65]

Selena's head shook loosely for a second before her eyes began to flutter and she muttered softly in Spanish, <Mommy no more merry-go-rounds, the horsies are mean.>

 

Shaking herself back to her senses she focused on Pan, "Okay, inside the whale.  And I don't hear any crazy nor smug 'I told you so' so I guess Ahab is further along.  Probably trying to stab his way out..."

 

With an effort of will, she rose from her prone position on the "floor" that was the inside of the whale's gullet, kicking something vaguely saliva like off her shoe.  "Okay, so what's the plan?  Try and punch our way out the way we came in or go find Ahab?"

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan seemed to give it a bit of thought, as he looked into the darkness. Unlike Selena, he was making a point out of not touching the ground. The falling Pixie Dust illuminated the floor just below his feet, and the rather fleshy appearance. "Do you want to let someone like Ahab run around on his own?" He grinned in the darkness. "That would be almost as irreponsible as leaving me alone inside a giant monster whale!"

 

Oh, he didn't rush ahead, of course. They had to stay close. The inside of the whale was like a fleshy labyrinth, after all!

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The inside of the whale was dark, wet and gross. Even with the size of the great whale, it seemed larger than it should be, following few, if any, rules for how an organism should be. Long hall, large chambers... it was almost as if the whale itself didn't follow the rules of biology that one would expect it to do.

 

Still, despite the labyrinthine appearance, the path ahead was rather simple to follow. Especially as voices rose in the distance, echoing through the halls. They were difficult to hear, but they were annoyed, talking about someone storming through.

[Azuth65]

"You make a fantastic point," the floating girl said, spinning slowly to face towards the sound of voices further down the whale's gullet.  "Granted, pretty sure somehow you'd come out the other end with goodies from a dozen sunken whaling ships."

 

Taking the lead, Gauss grimaced, "Speaking of which, I don't think the school has enough hot water for me to shower off the gross from this little trip."

 

"So, what exactly did you do to cheese Ahab off?"

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

"I often do," Pan responded with a smirk, as they floated down into the whale. None of them seemed like they wanted to touch the whale's insides, especially not given Gauss' reaction. "Well, treasure is of course another reason entirely for venturing into the whale's guts. It is said to have swallowed entire villages and islands, so treasure is very likely."

 

At the question, he paused. "Well, that is a story. Let's see..."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"SHUSH! Listen!" One of the voices yelled from further ahead in the whale, around a corner, interrupting Pan's story before it could begin. A flickering light illuminated the inside of the whale from around the corner,  "There's someone comin'! The whale's had another meal!" An older voice, a man with a rough voice and a bit of an accent. His accent sounded similar to Pan's, but perhaps a bit more rugged. "Yes, we know the whale ate someone. That guy with the harpoon just pushed past us." The other voice was younger. A woman, somewhere in the twenties, perhaps.

 

Then they moved out from around the corner. A man in the sixties or seventies, a messy grey beard, and thinning grey hair. At first glance, his clothes seemed to have a style similar to Pan's, but they were ragged and torn, with attempts to patch them having been given up long ago. The color of his clothes was faded, though maybe it had once been vibrant blues. The other, the woman, had long, jet black hair, which she had tied into a long ponytail that reached down to her waist. Her clothes were slightly less ragged, but with plenty of holes. Her dress had once been long and red, but had been ripped apart, reaching just to her knees. Her top was black, with intricate yellow patterns. The man was folding a pole with a knife tied to the end, the woman had a torch. 

 

"And who are you two supposed to be?"

[Azuth65]

"Of course.  Of course Monstro here would have eaten whole islands.  I'm just going to stop talking now before something else wildly implausible I say get confirmed," she sighed, floating along steadily, taking care to avoid any of the drippings coming off the 'roof' of the whale's insides.

 

As the flew further along the, for lack of a better term, corridor of the whale's gullet and the voices ahead became more distinct, Gauss pulled a pair of steel nuts from her pocket, keeping them between her fingers in her left hand.  "Easy with the pokin' stick.  I go by Gauss.  The guy floating beside me shedding concentrated Disney creativity is Forever Boy.  The jackass with the harpoon who ran past?  Captain Ahab."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan made a quick bow while standing on the air, smiling at the man and the woman. "Perhaps you have heard of me?" He gestured with his right hand for Gauss to lower her weapon. "There is no need for us to fight, is there? After all, I do believe we are all on the same side."

 

His tone seemed to shift slightly, something from him just seemed to radiate calm as he stared at the old man and the woman. "I am sure you have an interesting story to tell of your life in here, but we are in quite a hurry to find Ahab. Maybe you have heard of him?"

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The old man looked at them, his eyes wide. "Ahab and Forever Boy?" He sounded like he had trouble believing his own ears. The woman was much quicker to react, quickly pushing the man's makeshift spear down, out of the way. "Put that away! If he is who they, then we are better of with him on our side, old man!" The old man gave in, shaking his head. 

 

"Sorry about that, you never know just who the whale is going to eat this time." She stopped forward, smiling at Gauss and holding a hand out towards her. "The old man is Gepetto the Carpenter, you can call me Red." The old man stood back, leaning against a fleshy wall, as he stared at Forever Boy, grumbling. "If that guy that ran past us is the Ahab, then he probably knows the inside of the whale like the back of his own hand." She pointed down the way he came from. "He ran that way, last I saw he was heading for the city."

[Azuth65]

"Gepetto, THE Gepetto, creator and father of Pinocchio?  Oh, I can't wait to hear how this Neverworld story differs from what we've been fed for the last hundred and twenty years," Gauss said, crossing her arms and seeming to recline back, as if resting against an invisible wall in mid-air.

 

When Red mentioned a city the floating teen nearly fell from shock, "Wait, Red, you're telling me there's a freaking city inside this stupid sea mammal?"

 

All Gauss was left with was the planting her face in her palm and, eyeing Pan from between the fingers of her right hand mutter to her friend, "I blame you for this."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The old man looked up at Gauss, an incredulous look in his eyes. "This Neverworld story?" He raised an eyebrow, as he looked at Forever Boy. "Where has that blasted whale taken us this time?" 

 

Red just shook her head. "Well, sure. Where else would we all live? Nobody has ever made it out of the whale, so we had to settle down. You did not think that we would just live in its stomach and wait to get digested or something like that, did you?"

Edited April 11, 2020 by RocketLord

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Pan smirked and shrugged at Selena's accusation. "Often with good reason, but this is not on me." He turned at the old man, held up his hand, palm up, and swirling pixie dust gathered to create a spinning image of the Earth. "This is Earth, old man. I have been stuck here for quite a while, so I would love to hear how you made your way here, and maybe how you will make your way back."

 

He paused, the image of the Earth disappearing. "I do not believe that Ahab or monster whales are supposed to be here, but more and more of Neverworld seems to flow in through the cracks." Pan snapped his fingers, grinning. "Oh yes, while I remember: It seems that everything from our world is some sort of distorted story in this one. I am quite famous in this world, and so are you and your son, old man."

[Azuth65]

"I repeat, I swear to God if we run into anyone from Dracula, I'm hitting you with Vlad's coffin," Gauss said, her hand falling away from her face.

 

Looking back to Red she added, "Not sure if this whale is typical for your dimension but, well, whales from where I'm from don't normally have enough room inside them for a couple houses let alone a city."

 

"Now, who wants to go play catch-up with the jerk with the harpoons?  Captain short-temper, as you noted, probably even knows a way we can get out short of trying to punch our way out his mouth," she asked, floating along down the fleshy hallway