Chapter 2. A Call for Celebration!

The party was going strong, everyone cheering as Catherine joined in late, and cheered even louder as more alcohol was brought into the room. That’s when drunk shenanigans started, a few brawls breaking out, betting over arm wrestling, and bets being made on who was going to draw the short end of the stick once the captain made his report to HQ, Catherine being in the lead by a long shot.

They partied long and hard into the night, Catherine the guest of honor, was at once point reduced to helping out handing drinks. “Hey! Take a break for a sec and get over here!” Dolan yelled, waving Catherine over.

Catherine smirked, coming over with a few drinks in hand, giving one to Dolan and Rose before sitting down between them “What’s up? Not drunk enough yet?” She smirked, taking a swig of the glass in her hand.

“Not even close!” Dolan laughed, raising the glass and chugging it down in one breath and slamming the glass back onto the table “How about you? The party girl herself handing out drinks instead of getting shit faced? Doesn’t sound right, especially when you are going to get yelled at later. “ He said, pointing the empty glass towards her “I hope you don’t though, I betted Rose would.”

“Oh fuck off” Rose said, sitting up for a brief moment before laying back down again.

Dolan laughed “Fukin light weight.”

“I am drinking enough, Don’t feel like getting too drunk tonight.” Catherine said with a shrug, sipping her drink. “Besides, I can get drunk on the atmosphere in here alone.” She glanced back, chuckling a bit at the chaos.

“True, but nothing beats the actual feeling” Dolan said, grabbing another glass from a passing waiter, chugging it down and adding it to the rest of the empty glasses.

“Not having a hangover tomorrow and getting yelled at would…” Rose groaned moving her head to face Catherine “You have the right idea for once… Usually you’d be out cold by now.”

She shrugged “Too tense to enjoy it.”

Dolan scoffed “Hogwash.” He said, placing down another glass “What he do?”

Catherine raised an eyebrow, but then her eyes grew wide and looked away “Nothing important.”

“oooh? You sure about that lass? I heard you earlier, and guessing as he isn’t here right now there must have been something that happened, yeah?” He asked, poking her with an empty mug.

Catherine went beat red “Shove that empty glass up your ass” she said angerly, shooting him a glare that only made him laugh for a bit before his attention was drawn to the entryway “Alright listen up!” The captain yelled, entering the room.

Everyone continued to party, ignoring him until he yelled “If you bunch of idiots don’t listen up I am taking away all of your alcohol privileges!” prompting a bunch of boos from the party goers “If you don’t like it then be quite and listen!” He yelled, and as soon as they all calmed down he cleared his throat “HQ wants us to sit and wait for a few days, the dungeon core is still working, albeit slowly. They will then bring in a crew that will do a full diagnostic on it, we are to guard the dungeon until then” He said “until then, stay on guard, do your job, and we will be on our way once they arrive. So, Don’t get too drunk”

“Already wasted sir!” Catherine yelled from crossed the room while holding up an empty glass, prompting the whole room to cheer.

The captains face grew red. “Catherine! Meet me in my office first thing in the morning!” He yelled, causing people to cheer even louder, some even cussing in frustration. The captain clicked his tongue, then left the room, not wanting to bother with the bunch of drunks.

Catherine laughed, sitting back down then wincing in pain after Dolan punched her “Ow! Hey what was that for asshole?!” She asked, shooting a sharp glare at him.

“The 100 bits you just lost me.” He said, downing another glass.

Catherine rubbed her arm “Asshole.” She sighed, then perked up a bit, looking over to Rose who was staring at her “What?”

Rose stared at her for a bit longer, then sat up “Nothing, wondering why you would instigate him like that.”

“Because if I am going to get yelled at better make it fun for me and a few others.” She said. Still rubbing her arm.

Rose glanced at Dolan for a moment, then back at Catherine before stretching, standing up “well, Im going to sleep, hang over is not going to come any sooner.” She said “Glad you are alive and well, Catherine, really gave us a scare. “

Catherine smiled “Same, glad to be alive.”

Rose nodded, waving towards Dolan who simply raised a glass as Rose left the room.

Another hour passed before Catherine decided to leave herself “well, better get back to my room” She yawned, looking over the room to see about 90% of the crew passed out on the floor, or sluggishly making their way out of the room. Not counting the ones who left earlier.

Dolan sighed “Yeah, about that time. Only got a bit buzzed.”

“That’s what you get for being born half giant.” Catherine teased.

“Curse my giant bloodline!” He laughed, standing up and putting a hand on Catherine’s shoulder, staring at her a bit before shaking his head and sighing “was fun.” He said before quickly leaving the room.

Catherine raised an eyebrow “What’s up with him?” She asked herself before standing up “Well, might as well get back to it.” She said, leaving the past out drunks alone in the room to wallow in their own pity.

Catherine approached her room, stopping at her door and was about to enter in her pin before she perked up, her ear twitching as she looked to her side to see Rose, in full body armor, approach her. “Uuh, did something happen?” Catherine asked.

“Dunno. did it, Catherine?” Rose asked, holding up baton which she gave a light shake, causing sparks of electricity to dance in the air around it “What did you say happened to Roc?”

Catherine moved her hand away from her keypad, looking at Rose “He felt tired, so he is sleeping in my room. I’d like to join him in privacy soo…” Catherine crossed her arms around her chest, looking a bit annoyed.

“Is he now?” Dolan said, coming from behind Catherine. Like Rose, Dolan was also fully equipped.

Catherine jumped, turning back and facing him, then looking back towards Rose “I don’t know whats this about but I’d rather not wake him, so-“She started but was interrupted by Rose

“See, Id believe you normally, but you have been lying up a storm lately” She said, giving the baton another shake. “I’d take it everything you have said since the start has been a lie, after the blatant one you told in the cafeteria.”

Catherine moved back, putting her back against the door as the two moved in closer “W-what lie? You both know I cannot lie, I’d be cursed by my ancestors!”

Dolan sighed “I wish we could believe you lass, I do but…”

“You are either wearing a shit ton of makeup or you are not Catherine.” Rose said “Now answer me, Is Roc ok in there.” Rose asked, a pleading look in her eyes.

Catherine looked between the two, then faced Rose and spoke. “Yes, he is alive and well, sleeping like a newborn baby.” She said smiling the most innocent smile she could muster.

Rose’s eyes went wide. “YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Rose screamed, Swinging the baton and missing Catherine’s head as she ducked then rolled under Dolan “Oh no you don’t!” he yelled grabbing her leg “You are not going any…where?” He watched in confusion as the leg he was holding melted in the palm of his hands, slipping out of his grasp. He then looked up to see Catherine had stood up, stuck her tongue out at A confused Dolan, and run off into the ship.

“what the hell? Wait, no. Get back here!” Dolan said standing up and was about to run after her when Rose yelled “Dolan wait! Get this door open!” “You sure? She’s getting away and Roc might be…”

“Dolan please!” Rose faced him, desperately pounding on the door.

Dolan sighed, walking over and moving her out of the way before typing in the code on the keypad. The door slid open, Rose rushing into the room and catching sight of her deceased friend “oh, oh my gods…no.” she said, falling to her knees “no, no no no no!” She screamed, tears in her eyes.

Dolan stood in the doorway, looking towards the bed and letting out a sigh. “Thought with the wrong head…” He shook his head then approached Rose “Crying here is not going to bring him back, yknow?” he said “Aint gonna stop that monster either.”

Rose looked up to him, sniffing then wiping away her tears “We should of known.”

“How?” Dolan asked “Thing looks exactly like her, Acted like her, And hell had me fooled till you filled me in.”

“If we just questioned her more at the dungeon! A blood demon wouldn’t show up in a dungeon with 1 room!” She said.

“Yeah we should of!” Dolan yelled “But who in their right mind is going to question a high elf on if they have their facts straight or not?! Hell maybe our scanners were wrong and it was bigger or older dungeon?!” Dolan twisted to the side and kicked a potted plant, flinging dirt all over the room “One fucking lie and they lose their blessing, at worse they turn into a dark elf. You don’t question a high elf.” He kicked another plant.

Rose sighed, calming down seeing her friend lose himself a bit. She took one final glance at her friend gone mummy “So, doppelganger?” she asked.

Dolan kicked another plant, then faced her “Thing liquified in my hand, clothes and all. “he then pointed to the corpse “I don’t think a doppelganger can drain like that, the corpses back at the dungeon where drained too. Would say vampire but they tend to stay away from water magic.”

“Its also disguised as a High Elf, too pure for a vampire’s taste, maybe she was telling the truth and she’s a blood demon with shapeshifting powers? A variant?” Rose asked

“Doubt anything that thing has said is true, you said as much.”

Rose nodded “So we know it can shapeshift, drain its victims of their blood, intelligent enough to fit in with humans, and can liquify part of its body, if not all.”

“Sounds right nasty” Dolan said as the lights in the room flickered, a loud mechanical hum sounding that slowly calmed itself as both Dolan, Rose, and everything in the room started to float.

“Scratch that, Is intelligent enough to strategize and sabotage machinery. That was the fucking gravity generator” Rose cursed, reaching down and pushing a button on her boots, Dolan doing the same as they lit up, the boots pulling them towards the ground where they attached with a *thunk*

Dolan cracked his knuckles together “That just brought it from a possible C rank straight to A” He said, Ross nodding “Contact the captain, even if its strength isn’t up to par Id like some magatek weapons, that baton isn’t going to cut it.” He said, moving towards the door and looking out into the hallway, seeing people float around wondering what was going on.

“Sound the alarm! Monster on board!” Dolan shouted prompting questions such as “what, when, and how” from the crew “Fucking sound the alarm! Roc is dead! A monster disguised as Catherine killed him! Fucking drunks get a move on!” Dolan yelled, running out of the room and soon after the whole inside of the ship was flashing red, going on high alert.

Rose took a deep breath, glancing towards her dead friend one more time before putting her hand up to her ear “Rose to captain, you are not going to like this.”

Catherine was gently spinning in the air of the gravity control room, machinery beeping with alerts and creaking noises because someone jammed human flesh and bone where it doesn’t belong. One unlucky soul being bent clean in half and jammed into one of the screens. Catherine looked up towards the ceiling as the lights started flashing red, she chuckled “I did not want this to be too boring anyways.”

She rotated her body, moving upright and extending her feet to the floor. Taking a few testing steps she nodded “Firmly planted” she said as the door slid open, 2 soldiers in full plate armor running in.

“Surrender now you vile abomena-“ Catherine raised an arm towards him that quickly extended and bounced off his armor. She smiled, her eyebrow twitching as the arm expanded and inflated, pushing the soldier to the wall. Her arm then liquified and wrapped around him. “up we go!” she said turning around and pulled, lifting the man up into the air and then slamming his head into the ground, pushing his head up into his body.

The man went limp, floating up into the air. “You fucking monster!” The solder snapped out of his daze and charged at her, sword drawn. Catherine spread her arms, taking the slash head on as it cut her cleanly in half yet she still stood in place, her body reconnecting as if it was not cut in the first place. She smirked, seeing the soldier back away a bit in fear.

“Didn’t even tickle.” She raised her hand towards the man, who turned and started to run away but found he could not move, his head covered by a large ball of slime attached to the women. Catherine squinted “I knew that armor was going to be a pain…” She sighed, flooding the soldiers head with slime, entering threw any small gap she could.

She shrugged, getting bored of watching the man drown and walked over to the other man she killed. She held onto the body, a new arm forming on her shoulder that extended towards the skull where she pulled, popping the head free from the body. She let go of the body and stuck her now free hand into the neck and draining the liquids. “let me borrow this” she said, taking the sword from the now limp soldier and striking his armor with all her strength, making a dent but not piercing it.

“Tch, not acidic enough to dissolve it either” she groaned, draining the fluid from the deceased man she drowned before tossing his lifeless corpse into the back of the room “I figured, still... shouldn’t be too hard.” She exited the room, coming face to face with a women holding a drawn bow and a surprising lack of armor. Must of came right from the mess hall “oh this will be good” She chuckled

The woman glared, the arrow lighting up for a brief moment before letting it loose. Catherine felt a chill go down her spine, something deep inside her told her to avoid it, and she did. Catherine twisted her body unnaturally, opening a hole inside herself to allow the arrow to fly threw. She glanced back, watching the arrow hit one of the deceased soldiers and exploding, the explosion expanding outwards and then crystalizing. “Holy hell That’s cool! Whoops!” she yelled, dodging another arrow.

Catherine extended her arm towards the lady, who vanished “The hell?” Catherine blinked, then felt the chill on her back again and tried to duck but was too late as an arrow stuck into the back of her skull, the following explosion engulfing half her upper body as she fell limp to the ground.

“Yatta!” The girl cheered from the gravity control room, teleporting over to the body and putting her hand up to her ear “This is Jiji! Intruder ele-*cough*” The girl blinked, tasting blood in her mouth as she looked down. A spike had extended from the corpse, piercing her chest. The girl then felt cold, as all the liquid was quickly drained from her body and she fell limp, floating in the air. “Gravity is off, dumbass.” Catherine said, detaching herself from her trapped body and forming a new one “Fuck magic.” She said, ripping off the woman’s skull and sticking it into her body and dissolving it.“Fuck, now I’m mad”

Catherine then picked up the bow and arrows, loading one and pulling back. She focused, the arrowing lighting up for a brief moment and a wide grin spread crossed her face, letting an arrow fly into the head of another soldier just turning the corner. It exploded, then froze solid onto his head, killing him instantly. “Kick ass, now for.” She focused again, thinking of how the girl, Jiji, from earlier teleported but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t do it. “Tch, oh well” she shrugged, happy with her new bow and limited arrows.

She put the bow on her back, held in place by her body, then she started to walk, ready to hunt.