The Cradle Roamers: A Fanfic of Many Painful Deaths

Vanguard Dex smoked a cigarette.

A week ago, a team of about a hundred knights flew back to Cradle to investigate the increasing energy readings on the planet. They brought ten knights who prepared camp and organized supplies on the deserted Haven, ten knights with mechanical experience, and eighty combat knights.

Vanguard Dex was chosen to be the leader of the combat knights. He led the initial squad of four knights(including himself) back into the Clockworks. As far as Dex could tell, the Clockworks now were no different from the descriptions thousands of years ago. Depth 1 was a Wild Path, Depth 2 was a beast arena, and Depth 3, which his squad was descending to at that moment, was a Wolver den.

Dex adjusted his Azure Guardian armour, comforting himself for the long ride down. Alice, his childhood friend, leaned on him, squeaking, "Dex! Oh, this is great! Now that those two are looking away..."

Dex shoved the small Skolver knight off himself, whispering, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Let's just get this expedition over with, we have to prepare camp at Moorcroft Manor TODAY."

"Awww. Well, there's always tomorrow!"

Rico, a large, Volcanic Plate knight, shouted, "Damn it Alice, both me and Gamma can hear you! Dex already knows how much you want to bang him, you don't have to ask twice!"

Alice moaned, "Awww. Well, there's always a lifetime ahead! The Spiral Order wiped out pretty much everything on Cradle, so we shouldn't get overwhelmed, right?"

Gamma stared at Alice from the elevator shaft's shadows, Chaos Cowl leaving only her green eyes visible. She said, "Just be quiet."

Dex wondered if he should have stayed silent earlier to help Alice avoid embarrassment. She was a handful at times, but she was still his friend. Why Alice was his friend, Dex really didn't know. He continued smoking his cigarette, waiting for the ride to end.
-----
The squad left the elevator to find themselves surrounded by a pack of Wolvers. Since it was only Depth 3, the Wolvers were easily cut down. Dex slashed them with his Leviathan Blade, Alice crushed them with her Triglav, Rico broke their bodies with his Iron Slug, and Gamma sniped them with her Sentenza.

No injuries and a pile of dead Wolvers. Dex hated receiving injuries, but he also hated the lack of danger. He kicked at a Wolver corpse, sending it flying up the path. As the party walked past the corpse, they saw something very peculiar.

What was a knight's corpse doing here?

The knight was wearing both Crown and Armor of the Fallen, lying flat on his back. However, it became apparent to Dex that the knight was not dead when Rico poked the knight with the barrel of his Iron Slug.

Immediately, the Fallen knight stood up, towering over Rico by half a foot. The Fallen knight said, "Call me...Fallen Knight. Tell me, what is my name?"

Rico didn't answer, shaking in bewilderment.

Fallen Knight screamed, "WHAT IS MY NAME?!"

Rico cried desperately, "I don't know! What are you even doing here?"

Fallen Knight turned his back on Rico. Fallen Knight moaned, "I am a Roamer, doomed to forever walk. I have been lost to time, even from myself. My squad went insane from the torment surrounding them, turning on me. My memory is not clear, but I do remember one thing."

"What?"

"THE PAIN! They jumped on me, BREAKING MY LIMBS! You broke the bones in the bodies of those Wolvers! HOW DARE you act so mockingly towards my DEATH! HOW DARE you break THEM when I was broken! You shall know what THEY felt! You shall know what I felt! YOU SHALL KNOW VENGEANCE!"

Rico screamed as Fallen Knight suddenly turned around, knocking Rico onto the ground. Dex realized that Fallen Knight was powered by a force greater than any other undead soul. He had to make sure he got his squad to safety, even if one of them had to die. Rico clearly had no hope anyway as Alice tried to shoot Fallen Knight off him with an Arcana. Fallen Knight shrugged off the bullets, grabbing Rico in an armlock. Dex shouted, "Run!"

As Dex, Alice, and Gamma ran up the path to find the elevator down, they could hear Rico's arm snap and a loud scream.

How strong was that undead knight, wrestling someone in VOLCANIC PLATE to death?! Running some more, the squad of three heard another horribly loud snap with even louder screaming. Even when they were several kilometres away, they still heard the breaking of bones.

When was Fallen Knight just going to let him die? The answer came five minutes later when they heard a final scream and an explosion-like sound. Fallen Knight finished Rico off with a body slam. The trio soon found the elevator, scrambled in, and went down to the next depth.

Alice cried in the corner. Gamma shook in a fetal position on the middle of the elevator. As for Dex, he simply thought how he could keep his squad safe in the future. He went up to Alice and hugged her tightly. He whispered, "Everything will be just fine..."

Are you sure you can keep up two FF in one time? Anyway good work as always

AN: I'm sure I can keep both of my fics active. Of course, DB will be updated less, and I want to get this one going before I start continuing DB.
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Far away from Haven and in the horizon were the Roamers, looking at the knights. The Roamers were too far to be seen by the knights, but the Roamers had perfect vision. They spied the knights curiously, trying to discover any insults the knights may have done.

Barbarian impatiently growled, "Where are the other knights? I only see ten who are keeping the camp in shape."

Cobalt Steel answered, "The rest of the knights may be descending, since they probably got news of the first squad crushing the first two depths. I must say, I find it quite noble. Their teamwork, I mean."

Asura giggled, "Oh, of course you do! You can only see greatness in PETTY things! I am a goddess compared to you, Cobalt. You are nothing!"

Molten Knight stayed out of the conversation.

Cobalt Steel ignored Asura's remarks and said, "Let's see what Fallen Knight found out when he comes back." Immediately afterwards, Fallen Knight jumped several kilometres upward, landing beside the other Roamers with a stomp. His whole body was covered with blood, and his armour was sprayed with Rico's guts.

Fallen Knight roared, "They, they, THEY! They must die!"

Barbarian curiously asked, "Oh, a good battle for me? What did you see?"

Fallen Knight stood up tall with a black aura forming around him. He screamed, "They broke the bones of others!"

Molten Knight blurted out, "So what?"

"DON'T ACT LIKE THEY WERE ANY MORE RESPECTFUL TO YOU! They crushed the Wolvers with blunt weapons, cutting their breath and suffocating them!"

Immediately upon hearing this, Molten Knight screamed as an orange aura appeared around him. Fallen Knight continued, "They refuse to fight like true warriors, using guns instead of blades!"

Barbarian howled, a cloud of shadowy swords forming around him. Fallen Knight told Cobalt Steel, "They leave behind their team to save themselves! WHAT KINDS OF MONSTERS DO THAT?!"

Cobalt Steel slammed the ground with a white aura glowing in blinding light. Finally, Fallen Knight said, "They disregard the power of nature! They are willing to use normal weapons! Even weapons with no status effects! They completely ignore the path of a war god!"

Asura screamed the loudest, drowning out all of the others. She sprout wings of flame, hovering over the other Roamers.

They all cried, "THEY MUST DIE!"

For their first victims as a collective group, the Roamers already knew who they were going to kill. The camp-keepers who took care of the supplies could burn, along with the expedition team's chance of survival. The Roamers, in one giant leap, jumped towards Haven, releasing a sonic boom as they flew.
-----
Geo-knight Sawyer was taking stock of the remaining supplies inside the Auction House as he heard a loud noise outside. The mechanics and fighters went into the Clockworks a few hours ago, so the knights in Haven had to figure out a way to send supplies down to Moorcraft Manor soon. Sawyer couldn't spare a moment, but curiosity got the better of him as he ran outside.

The first things he saw were the nine other knights, with ice freezing their legs to the ground. Sawyer looked up, finding a flying Grey Feather knight with fire wings howling in laughter. It said, "This is what you get for insulting the power of the elements! I am the Asura, the most powerful Cradle Roamer! I am the Asura, a weapon of death! I am the Asura, the most horrible pain you will ever feel!"

Asura dove down, punching the ground. The ice exploded, causing some knights to lose their legs and some to simply fall over. Asura pointed her finger at one of the knights and shot a bolt of lightning, instantly annihilating her target. Asura then shouted, "MOLTEN KNIGHT! Get over here, I know you want a taste of their blood as well!"

Sawyer, hiding behind the door, saw a seven-foot Vog Cub knight appear with a Sudaruska twice the normal size. Molten Knight, carrying the Sudaruska with one hand, swung it at one of the knights. The knight flew headfirst into the walls of the Auction House, crushing the knight's body into itself in a light show of red. Molten Knight muttered, "Fallen Knight. Your turn."

A Roamer in Fallen gear came up to a knight. The knight desperately crawled away from Fallen Knight, but it was hopeless. One by one, Fallen Knight broke each of the poor knight's limbs with wrestling holds. After he broke all of the limbs, Fallen Knight punched the knight's face, with his fist smashing through the opposite side of the skull. Fallen Knight screamed, "Barbarian, you want to duel one of them or not?!"

Another Roamer came out in Arcane Salamander gear, armed with a Voltedge and a Glacius. Barbarian grabbed and stood up one of the knights, handing the knight his Glacius. However, the knight was already unconscious from the pain of having icicles stabbing all over his body. Barbarian, realizing that his epic duel would not happen today, swiftly decapitated the knight, engulfing the head with a shower of sparks. Barbarian said, "Cobalt Steel, you can have the rest."

One last Roamer with a set of Azure Guardian armour, an oversized Aegis, and a giant Leviathan Blade smashed the ground. Cobalt Steel shouted, "How dare your kind leave your friends for dead! You ignored what I did. You ignored the sacrifices I made! Feel the souls of the ones you left behind!" Cobalt Steel raised his arms, with an army of white Dust Zombies sprouting from the ground surrounding him. Cobalt Steel then pointed his hands at the remaining knights, yelling, "CHARGE!"

Slaughter.

Once all of the other nine Geo-knights were eaten alive, Sawyer quickly radioed all of the knights in the Clockworks. He said, "Our supplies will be destroyed. Our camp on Haven will be destroyed. Our only hope is to reach the core and hope we find a way back home like our ancestors did. I'm sending a video of my helmet-cam, so you know what we're facing."

After the footage of the massacre was sent, Fallen Knight twisted Sawyer's neck and joined the other Roamers in destroying the supplies.
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Here's the profiles of the Roamers:

1) Fallen Knight
Appearance: A tall knight in Fallen gear.
Takes offense: When a knight mutilates or breaks any body parts.
Weapon: Weaponless, but is strong enough to wrestle and beat anyone to death.

2) Molten Knight
Appearance: Even taller and more muscular than Fallen Knight. Wears Vog Cub gear.
Takes offense: When a knight crushes or suffocates something.
Weapon: A double-sized Sudaruska.

3) Barbarian
Appearance: The size of a normal knight at five-foot six. Wears Arcane Salamander.
Takes offense: When a knight doesn't fight like a true warrior and uses a weapon that's not a sword.
Weapons: Dual wields a Voltedge and a Glacius.

4) Asura
Appearance: The same height as Barbarian, but is skinnier. Wears Grey Feather.
Takes offense: When a knight uses a normal damage or a non-status weapon, thereby disregarding the power of nature and the path of a power-obsessed god.
Weapon: Doesn't have any, but she has god-like powers and can control the elements to kill knights. This easily makes her the most deadly Roamer.

5) Cobalt Steel
Appearance: Azure Guardian helm and armour, oversized Aegis. The same size as Barbarian.
Takes offense: When knights don't use teamwork and/or leave their team.
Weapon: A giant Leviathan Blade, which is approximately the same size as a normal Sudaruska. Also has the power to summon the ghosts of knights in the form of Dust Zombies.

GG, re

Hold on! I can understand the reason fallen knight, cobalt steel, and molten knight rage... but asura and barbarian? Why the ehck does she get's angry over someone using normal weapons? Why does she think it is againts force of nature? And why does barbarian think other weapons is not worthy? Does he even has any slight idea what a warrior is?....

(Me walks to asura)

THE NORMAL ELEMENT IS KEEPING THE FORCE OF NATURE YOU IMBICLE! LOOK AT ALL THE GO****MN MONSTERS ON TIER 1-3, WHAT DO THEY DO? THEY INFLICT NORMAL DAMAGE YOU ****HEAD!

(Turns to barbarian)

AND YOU! DO YOU SEE THIS?

(Shows my bare fist and turns to saxton hale)

THAT'S RIGHT! A BARE FIST! A TRUE WARRIOR USES THIS ON EVEN A HUNDREAD METER TROJAN! YOU DON'T KNOW A THING!

AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH

( Dies because of a heart attack, the cause? Too much swearing and screaming)

Nice chapter as usual

Vanguard Deus was a heavy duty knight in Ancient Plate, and he was the leader of a juggernaut squad. All of the soldiers under him were similarly armed with Ironmight shields and Sudaruskas. The expedition back to Cradle was supposed to be easy and safe, but when the footage of the Roamers was sent out, everyone knew that almost all hope of going back home was lost.

Deus said, "Get yourselves together, men! We still walk, and we can still fight! We have to push on to Moorcroft Manor. It's only three more depths. We can do it!"

Defender Elite Vulcan muttered, "Don't even try, Deus. Us four all know the situation. How can we possibly fight against them?"

Epsilon said, "Yeah, we're kind of screwed."

Solstice whispered to himself, "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap..."

Deus knew that the morale of his men was pretty much dead. However, it was his responsibility to keep the squad alive at all costs. Deus beckoned his men over to the elevator, knowing that they had no choice but to follow.
-----
Fallen Knight roared, "FLY! Go for your targets, Roamers! Kill those who mock us, those who ignore our deaths! KILL!"

The Roamers glowed with blinding auras, then jumped into the abyss of the Clockworks.
-----
Deus and his squad descended into the now-lifeless Gloaming Wildwoods. There were no creatures left, but the squad knew that they had to keep on their guard. In the back of their minds, they all knew the futility of every attempt they made to protect themselves. Ever so slowly, they walked down the path, shields braced and weapons ready. Eventually, the elevator was in sight. Could they actually make it to the rendezvous point at Moorcroft Manor?

Once the squad was about twenty metres away from the elevator, they saw a orange knight falling from the sky. Molten Knight landed between the squad and the elevator, with the force of the landing blasting the squad backwards.

Molten Knight strolled towards the knights with his giant Sudaruska held high over his head. He spat, "Blunt force? Blunt weapons? You dare torture your enemies. You dare crush them. You dare suffocate them. I died that way! You are monsters! How dare you?!"

Deus knew that their only possible way to survive was to get inside the elevator, but the only way to do so was to distract Molten Knight. Deus hoped it wouldn't come down to this, although he realized the inevitability. Deus quickly whispered to his men, "Hide behind the corner, now."

Vulcan didn't question the order, nor did Epsilon or Solstice.

Molten Knight, glowing orange while starting a sprint, could only see Deus. Molten Knight could kill the other knights later, so it would be a good idea to take out Deus first. Once in striking range, Deus managed to slash Molten Knight in the face as the latter reared up the over-sized Sudaruska. Desperate to push Molten Knight away from himself, Deus immediately followed up the slash with a hard shove. However, neither attack seemed to affect Molten Knight. Deus couldn't do anything as Molten Knight stabbed his chest with the Sudaruska, hitting with so much force that it went out his back.

Deus died instantly.

Despite his death, Deus's plan worked brilliantly. Molten Knight could only watch as Vulcan, Epsilon, and Solstice rode down the elevator. The three knights were shocked but alive. As they descended in safety, Vulcan said, "I still don't think his order was right. Couldn't there have been another way? Who's going to lead us now?"

Solstice answered, "Well...I think you're most invested in ways to keep all of us alive. So..."

Epsilon said, "Vulcan, you're our leader."
-----
Molten Knight landed beside Asura several kilometres away. He told Asura, "They are very tricky, the knights. One distracted me so the other three could get away."

Asura laughed, "Oh, Cobalt Steel would be so happy to hear that! Not only of the knight's teamwork, but of your incompetence adventuring by yourself. The little you can do by yourself! Poor you!"

"Be quiet, Asura. I'm going to intercept them on the next depth. I will make sure they die."

"I know you will. Well, I have my own business to take care of now! See you later, Molten Cub."

Molten Knight swore as Asura jumped down. No knights would survive Cradle. Especially not HIS targets. If the knights made it to the core, he would explode! Molten Knight glowed bright orange, then jumped down to intercept the knights he attacked earlier.

No knights would survive, especially not under his watch.

I'm interested. Will there be character apps to make your own knight/roamer? Also, I like he plot so far, would like to see some lore on this 'Knights obliterated everything' thing.

I really like this story! it is very interesting! my favorite roamer is Cobalt Steel!

"Vanguard Deus" Dues Ex?

I LOVE BRUTAL DEATHS

AN: I'm not experienced with app characters, but you can submit one if you want. Knights only, no Roamers. The template that I will find easiest is:

Name:
Gender:
Gear:
Personality:
Bio(optional):
Other details(optional):

Also, be aware that your character will most likely be killed off. The death of pretty much every knight on Cradle is a foregone conclusion.

On another note, I will resume DB after this chapter.
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Asura landed on top of a wall on a Depth 7 Clockwork tunnel, and she sat down right after. There were no monsters, due to the knights simply being strong enough to wipe out many areas of the Clockworks all those years ago. Asura said to herself, "Oh, I bet the heretics against my goddess powers are going to arrive here soon. But for now, let's have some fun. Shall we?"

Asura took out a doll wearing Ironmight and another doll wearing Grey Feather. The Ironmight doll greeted, "Hey sister! I'm here!"

The Grey Feather doll shouted, "Damn it, I told you not to go on missions without authorization! It's dangerous!"

The Ironmight doll laughed, "Come on, sister! I'll be fine."

"You probably will, Ironmight being heavy duty and all. However, this is a special Clockwork tunnel. There aren't any monsters."

The Ironmight doll asked, "Huh? Why is that?"

The Grey Feather doll answered, "I don't know, and that's why they sent me here: Because I'm one of the best knights they got."

"Well, I'm good too! Let's move along, shall we sister?"

The Grey Feather doll groaned, "Fine, I don't seem to have a choice but to take you with me. However, if anything happens, I won't be able to prove it. The Spiral Order doesn't think you're in the Clockworks since they didn't authorize your mission."

"I'll be careful, sister!"

"Please do, sister."

Asura stomped on the ground repeatedly. The Ironmight doll said, "Sister, why is there a TV screen up there?"

Asura said in a raspy voice, "Knights, you shall become the first targets of this trap chamber! There will be no escape!"

The Grey Feather doll gasped, "The floor...it's opening."

The Ironmight doll screamed, "It's revealing traps!"

Asura continued, "Status traps and specialized damage, mind you."

The dolls screamed for a whole minute. Asura put away the Grey Feather doll but kept the Ironmight doll. The Ironmight doll said, "What happened? Where am I? That's right, sister and I died a century ago. They remembered sister's death, that's good. Wait, WHERE'S MINE?! Where the hell is my memorial slab?! WHERE IS MY GRAVE?! I don't remember anything."

The Ironmight doll shed a tear. It continued, "I don't even remember my name, because it isn't on a memorial slab. Well, F*** IT ALL!" The Ironmight doll lit on fire, then changed into Grey Feather gear. "No one shall ever underestimate what killed me, even if they don't know who I am! Normal damage, what a joke! If it was just normal damage, sister and I could have survived it! What can normal damage do? NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Status effects, specialized damage, only THEY can kill!"

Asura put away the doll, then whispered, "Send the bad memories away..."

Four knights descended near Asura. Sure enough, they were all using Leviathan Blades and Valiances. They were the ones mocking her death! They were the ones who didn't care about her and her sister! They had to die!

Asura sprout wings of flame, then sent a gust of wind to push the knights off the elevator and make them fall to the ground. Three of the knights managed to run down the path, but the last one was helpless as Asura flew over to him. Asura looked at the Heavy Plate knight and punched the ground. A hail of stun vials showered upon the knight, slowing his body down to the point where his heart stopped. Asura laughed, "I love how people think they can survive status effects just because they have resistance! Oh, so funny."

Asura took the knight's Leviathan Blade, then shot some oil and fire at it. Sure enough, the Leviathan Blade lit on fire. Asura said, "Oh, that's a lot better!" She used her telekinesis over the elements to guide the Leviathan Blade through the air. Asura shouted, "The rest of you who are still alive, I will find you! The Clockworks are so linear, I just have to be able to run faster than you to kill you! Watch out, here I come!"

Asura flew into the air, finding a Blazebreak knight trailing far behind her team. The flaming Leviathan Blade quickly dove down and stabbed the knight in the back. The knight screamed, but she did not light on fire due to her Blazebreak.

Yet.

Eventually, the flaming Leviathan Blade managed to overcome the resistance of the Blazebreak armour and lit the knight on fire. After a few seconds, the blood loss and the flames finished her off.

Asura laughed and flew after the rest of the knights, leaving the Leviathan Blade to cook the corpse. There were only two knights left. One was wearing Ironmight, making Asura's wings glow even brighter. Using normal weapons was one thing, but mocking her death THAT much was completely, COMPLETELY, wrong! For that, the Ironmight knight and his friend could have even worse deaths than the others!

Asura pointed her fingers at the ground in front of the knights, transforming it into a field of traps. Shock pads, poison vents, stun spikes, freezers, and specialized damage traps! All except normal traps! The knights were running too fast to stop themselves, so they tripped into their long and painful deaths. The powers of nature were unleashed upon them, ripping them apart. Eventually, the knights couldn't even scream to ease their suffering. Then, there was no suffering to be had.

Asura flew away to find the other Roamers. She whispered, "Send the bad memories away..."