TMNS s01e01: Fire in the Dark
General Summary
Many moons ago, the flail snail people fled their ancestral home when it was invaded by the abominable sema. In their hasty exodus, a snail by the name of Master Splincter did his best to save the future of his people by rescuing a cache of eggs. Unfortunately, these eggs had been contaminated with the green glowing goo of the sema. This caused the snails to mutate, and though the Season-Mothers oversaw for their hatching, they could not abide the sema to corrupt their people further. The flail snail walk abandoned the mutants and Master Splincter to continue their slow search for a new home.
Since that fateful day, Master Splincter swore he would do everything in his power to seek redemption for the mutants and prove their worth. He raised the snail mutants with compassion and kindness in their hearts, but also trained them to be powerful killing machines in the hopes of one day reclaiming the home that was robbed of them and securing a future for their people.
This following recounts the events that occured when that day finally came.
A Prophecy Written in Slime
Of the teenage mutant ninja snails, three set out on this quest. The first-born, Cindersoul, had been imbued with the power of Master Splincter himself and proudly bore the powerful Slimefire, an Ancient-Old relic of their people. The studied Nightmare knew more than any of them what was at stake, having learned the histories and lore of their people with Master Splincter himself. Their third was called The Spiky One, a many-limbed ball of weaponry and rage hidden behind a sensory-deprivation helmet. Before they left, Master Splincter gave them one last directive in their efforts: should they see any of the glowing green sema goo, they were to destroy it. No snail would return to the caves otherwise. The trio set out westward into the gloomy swamp toward their destiny.The Biggest Little Monsters
As they traveled, the snails watched the tales of old come to life around them. They weaved among the roots of massive swangroves, bathed in the savory meatfogs, and breathed in the pungent sulfur that announced their arrival to the Burning Lush. This expanse once protected the flail snail's homestead with a ring of stifling heat, jets of flame, and boiling mosses. Now though, the Lush had been extinguished by the corruption of the sema. Mountains of half-rotted refuse dotted the landscape, their massive size forcing the snails to take the "long way around" more than a few times. Eventually though, after many days of travel, our heroes found the towering Shell Ridge and followed it all the way to the entrance to their ancient lair. The snails cautiously approached, keeping their eyes on the spreading ripples in the brown puddles of swamp water that revealed the subsurface movement of unknown creatures. However, as soon as they got close, the ripples stopped completely. After a brief moment that seemed to stretch on for an eternity of anticipation, the waters exploded and a swarm of swamp slirghs (now disgustingly individualized and relatively massive) leapt at our heroes with muck and menace. The fight against these door guardians was a tough one, but our snail heroes prevailed. After a brief respite, they collected themselves and headed into the unnatural darkness of the cave.Bat Into Hell
The pitch dark of the interior fell back before Cindersoul's Slimefire as the three crept in. They could soon hear the pained screeching of an animal attacked and the responding roar of a predator's bloodlust. Rounding a corner, they spotted a lone sema towering there, its toothed mouth open in rage as it battled a swarm of flame-eaters. The bats flopped at the beast as best they could, but their inner fire had been all but extinguished, and they were weakened as a result. Our heroes leapt into battle to try and save as many as they could. The massive sema quickly called in another gigiantic sema to aid in the fight. The monsters managed to rip apart two of the flame-eaters, but fell to our snail heroes before they could finish the swarm. Cindersoul helped heal the surviving beasts and even let them drink of the Slimefire to regain much of their lost strength. Cindersoul, whose gifts included the speech of beasts, accepted the bats' thanks and reassured them that, yes, the snails were returning. Excited at the prospect of returning to their peaceful symbiosis, the flame-eaters offered to help the snail heroes however they could. The sema were apparently building their nest deeper underground, but the bats knew the way. Our heroes mounted up and took off into the darkness of the cavern. The bats soon flew over a shallow basin of glowing green goo. Previously filled with water, sema refuse now piled up along the edges and throughout the bowl, plugging the natural spring and creating an awful mess. However, the goo did enable the bats to fly through the normally underwater suckhole and into the lower chambers of the cavern and the open expanse of the underground river tunnels. Standing on a wide platform, its clawed hands shaping a pile of sema crap like a sculptor, towered a massive full-grown semaphore. It was molding the nest's throne, which was liberally pumping out a bunch of the snail-mutating green goo into a basin the size of a lake. The gigantic creature, fully over 100 snail-feet tall, turned and roared a challenge at the flapping intruders. Mounted atop their trusty steeds, Nightmare, Cindersoul, and The Spiky One dove down toward the monster to attack.The Bigger They Are...
Immediately, The Spiky One dove right for the monster's face, her weaponed limbs scratching it up bad. Cindersoul and Nightmare took a more evasive approach and focused their ranged magicks at the beast's knees. The semaphore bit at The Spiky One and caught her bat in its jaws, but this caused the raging snail to fling itself at its face. The semaphore spit out the bat and grabbed The Spiky One in a massive claw. Cindersoul and Nightmare peppered the creature with pain, but they couldn't stop it from raising The Spiky One high and throwing her to the ground. Thankfully, they didn't have to, as The Spiky One had driven her limbs deep into the monster's palm and hung on tight. The creature's knee buckled beneath it when Nightmare scored a perfect hit. It screamed in rage, then tossed the The Spiky One in its mouth, chomping down hard. The Spiky One ended up being quite durable as she weathered the chomping teeth and resisted being swallowed. She delivered some amateur dental surgery in return, really making the semaphore regret its decision to snack upon the snail. Outisde the monster's face, Cindersoul gathered his strength and channeled the fury of the Slimefire to deliver a mighty blow straight to the creature's face. It fell backwards from the killing blow, lashing out blindly as it died. The semaphore's jaw went slack, allowing The Spiky One to leap out into the air, hoping her trusty flame-eater steed would catch her. Though the bat made a valiant effort, it missed The Spiky One completely and her friends watched in horror as she fell a hundred snail feet to the ground.The Secret of the Goo
The dying scream of the semaphore echoed throughout the underground river tunnels as Nightmare and Cindersoul quickly descended to check on their friend. Thankfully, a bright burst from Cindersoul's healing energies was able to bring The Spiky One back to her old self. As the gigantic corpse began to rapidly decay around them, our snail heroes assessed their situation. Though the semaphore was vanquished, the huge meat throne still loomed above them like an impossible mountain. Before they could act, dread found them: from deep within the river tunnels, the snarls and screams of a pack of vengeful sema signaled their imminent approach. This terror was almost immediately replaced by a different sound as a dark wind brought a sonorous chorus of calming melodies that drowned out the noise. With the snicker-snack of an invisible blade, the mountain of sema flesh suddenly began to tumble before them. Huge slabs of meat slid from the mountain and the whole thing fell in upon itself. The musical wind seemed to coalesce before them into a shadowy, feathered figure. The unidentifiable humanoid gazed down upon them. A melodious voice congratulated the snail heroes on their work and commended their bravery. The strange woman then commanded that they destroy the basin of green sema goo while she held the approaching monsters at bay. The snails quickly turned from the giant warrior and followed the throne's fleshy tubes to the lake of slime. Studying the basin, Cindersoul expressed concern that, without the goo, snails like them would cease to exist. Nightmare also struggled with the implication, knowing there was so much more to learn about the goo, but understanding her people's need for justice. The Spiky One ended the conversation with a simple "COWABUNGA!" as she cannonballed into the goo and disappeared beneath the surface. Not to be outdone, Cindersoul immediately followed suit, all while still holding the ever-burning Slimefire. Nightmare quickly, and quietly, collected a small sample of the goo just before the entire lake exploded in flame. The magic of the Slimefire had spread throughout the basin with a terrifying speed, and both Cindersoul and The Spiky One took a considerable amount of damage. Still, the deed was done, the hero snails' quest complete. The shadowy woman finished her brutal work with terrifying alacrity, slicing and dicing the approaching sema like a sickle through chaff. She once again addressed the mutant snails, still keeping any defining features hidden in magical shadows. She thanked them again and asked if they would be interested in completing another quest against the sema. She informed them that this was not the last of the goo, and if they meant to destroy it, she could point the way. The snail heroes agreed and the shadowy woman told them where to go. Her shadowy form then dissipated before them and a clear voice rang out once more, in farewell: "BY HER VOICE WE SING!" A single black feather fell softly to the ground before them. Their work not yet done, the teenage mutant ninja snails mounted their trusty flame-eaters and flew off into the dark depths of the underground rivers beneath Swango Swamp.Rewards Granted
- Home and hearth!
Missions/Quests Completed
- Destroy the sema nest and reclaim the flail snail lair
Character(s) interacted with
- Master Splincter
- A musical shadow woman
Created Content
Before entering their ancestral home, the snails shared memories of the last time they were here as unhatched eggs.
- Nightmare remembered the sonorous and soothing notes of Master Splincter's voice as other snails came to him for counsel and advice.
- Cindersoul remembered a feeling few flail snails ever experience, and one that would stick with him forever: there was a time while, in the egg, he had been very, very cold.
- The Spiky One, her rage temporarily sated, discussed the rage she felt being trapped in an egg.
Notes
- The Spiky One did admit that Cindersoul's cannonball was larger than hers.
