Risk Of Epic

The meteorites slammed into the forest floor, rending entire trees apart, splintered wood flying all around. One particular meteorite smashed square into the bark of an enormously resilient tree. The metal object lodged itself inside the thick bark of the tree which had begun to catch fire from the burning hot capsule.

A few moments later, small servo arms shot forth from small ports in the metal transport, spraying the battered pod with liquid nitrogen. The ethereal orange glow that had enveloped the pod during its descent quickly faded, and the servo arms retracted back into their slots. The pod lay dormant, the crackling of the newly formed fires on the tree's bark just beginning to pick up. Objects continued to fall from the sky, though none seemed to disturb the resting pod.

Suddenly the ice encasing the pod shattered around a circular hatch as it was forced open. The man inside had rammed the jammed door a bit too hard, spilling out into the open air. He desperately clawed at the air for anything to grasp, but nothing could be found as he plummeted to the ground below. Smacking the ground with a crunchy thud, the Bandit yelped, surprised by the fall.

Laying there in the soft, moist soil, he felt around for his trusty blaster. The laser gun had fallen with him, having skittered across the ground a few feet from him. With a groan of annoyance the Bandit sat up, readjusting his light blue stetson. The hat was scuffed and worn, but he wouldn't have it any other way, the scars reminding him of all of his pyrrhic victories. Time and time again he managed to come out on top, but it always came at a hefty toll.

The Bandit scuttled over to his rifle, slinging it over his back, and checking his supplies. All of his belts of TNT and his precious smoke bombs remained clipped firmly in place on the belts slung tightly across his chest, crisscrossing each other in an X pattern. He grasped his blaster firmly in one hand, dusting off his indigo pants that were tucked into his boots. He also wore a light tan duster, the collar of it shrouding his face in combination with the angle of his stetson. Through the darkness his face was encompassed in, a blue green orb of light shone through.

Shaking his purple metal boots off, the Bandit looked around, searching for any landmarks, but everything looked the same. Trees as far as he could see.

"Burn ins never get any easier do they ... or safer for that matter ... " the Bandit muttered to himself, gripping his rifle with both hands. The smell of earth hung in the air, while the dust from the impact of his pod began to settle. Quickly glancing down at his cracked position finder in his gauntlet, the Bandit sighed in frustration, making a guess, and beginning to head in that direction.

The forest was immense, row after row of trees coming into view just as the last had faded. Out of the corner of his visor, the Bandit saw the slightest of movements. He whipped around, squeezing the trigger on his rifle as a laser slug flew from the barrel of the gun, smashing into the moving object.

The projectile splintered the wood of the creature, nearly severing its leg entirely. The timberwolf snarled at the Bandit, baring its teeth. With steely determination, the Bandit let loose a hail of slugs, each one ravaging the wooden behemoth. The beast charged, mustering all its strength to move. The Bandit remained in place, aiming at the back legs blowing them clean off.

Unrelenting, the timberwolf crawled forward using its front legs, viciously snapping at the air. The splintered stumps of its hind legs glowed with a green energy, the fragments of wood reforming, slowly repairing the beast. Unphased, the Bandit kept up his assault of strategically placed blasts, two more severing the front legs, the green magic beginning as soon as the limbs came flying off.

Seeing the back legs starting to regain their form, the outlaw lowered his gun, letting the barrel slide down into his left hand, allowing him to free his other. Reaching for a stick of dynamite on his belt, the Bandit pressed the detonator on the top of the device.

Abruptly, the Bandit found himself sprawled out against the ground, both of his arm locked in the claws of the timberwolf that had just entered the fray. The sharpened points dug into his light armor, hidden beneath his duster. The maw of the foul beast drooled in anticipation, the rows of wooden meat grinders inching ever closer to the Bandit's face.

Realizing he still clutched the stick of dynamite in his hand, the Bandit looked over at his pinned hand with determination. Wiggling his legs into position, he performed a  powerful kick, shattering some of the underbelly of the creature, and forcing it back several feet. The timberwolf shook its head for a moment, before lunging at the Bandit, but he was prepared.

" 'Ave a snack why don't ya!", he yelled mockingly, bolting up into a sitting position, and ramming the still ticking dynamite into the skull of the beast, shattering several layers of sturdy wood. As soon as the dynamite was thrust in, it detonated, sending the Bandit flying several feet backwards onto his stomach, smoke coming off of his duster.

This time the green glow didn't return, the wrecked remains of the wolf staying strewn across the ground. With a heave, the Bandit pushed himself up, his hand injured from the explosion. Leaving him no time to breathe, the fully reformed original timberwolf pounced upon him. But just as he was forced to the ground once again, the Bandit gripped one of his smoke bombs, twisting the top off, and releasing a plume of grey smoke that surrounded the two.

Suddenly, the wolf fell several inches, the body of his prey no longer there to support him. The beast searched for the escaped meal, trying to claw its way out of the thick smoke.

"Lights out big guy," the Bandit spoke in a smug tone. A blast of incredibly bright purple energy pierced the smoke, exploding upon impact with the timberwolf. The Bandit lowered his gun, the shower of splinters plinking off his armor. With a sigh of relief, he looked for any more threats, and upon finding none continued onwards.

"Last damn time I take orders from that insane Commando ..." he muttered to himself before wincing in pain, stopping in his tracks. He freed one of his hands, reaching it down to touch the area of pain near his stomach. He felt something warm and wet, as the smell of fresh blood entered his nostrils. He grunted before muttering to himself.

"I'm getting too old for this shit ..." He quickly set down his rifle, unclipping a medikit from his belt, and taking out a small syringe. He inhaled deeply, before thrusting the needle into the medical port in the left side of his armor. He had never gotten used to the sudden rush of energy the medicine brought, and his senses were alight, not quite in pain or euphoria, simply overstimulated.

The wounds closed themselves quickly, leaving only bloodstains behind, as  a surge of energy reinvigorated the Bandit.

"Then again, some things only get better with age ..." he remarked, trying to justify having agreed to another one of the Commando's forays into deep space. He had been enticed by the lure of of treasure and plunder abound. But he wasn't the spry outlaw he used to be, and looking back at some of the things he did back in the day, he would've slapped his younger self upside the head.

Yet here he was, yet again, on another hostile alien planet, roped into it by his own greed. Even so, he knew why he really did it, for the rush of combat was too much to stay away from for long. As the Bandit picked himself up, marching onwards, he realized something. He was born to be the wild card he was, fighting for whoever offered the greatest adventure. He would probably die some day, amidst the chaos, stranded on some god forsaken planet, and he was determined to enjoy every moment until that time inevitably came

Continuing in the general direction he had been heading before getting ambushed, the Bandit could feel a subtle tremor in the ground. He stopped, paralyzed by the memories of  "The Planet". He tried to reason it away as just some freak seismic event, but his hopes were smashed, another pulse of energy resonating through the ground.

"No ... that's not possible!" the Bandit shouted in anger and disbelief, the shaking of the ground getting stronger by the second. Abruptly the periodic shaking stopped, the forest falling silent. The snapping of branches could be heard close by, but not coming from ground level, they were coming from overhead.

Hesitantly the Bandit slowly let his gaze drift upward, shocked, and disturbed by what was there, staring back at him. Two massive hands of stone had pried open a hole in the tree canopy, letting the enormous red eye of the creature stare back down at him. Quickly recomposing himself, and remembering who had won round one, the Bandit shouted at the beast.

"Back for round two then are ya? Alright Colossus, if you insist," The golem didn't move an inch, remaining completely still. A formation of birds, high up in the sky soared past the head of the golem, only furthering to emphasize its dizzying stature.The Bandit raised his gun upwards, taking aim at the unblinking red eye, before making one final comment.

"Ding ding."