Re: The Grand Battle S2G1! [Round Three: Water...place!]
11-03-2010, 08:05 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Lord Paradise.
Kath was a fucking mermaid. Under normal circumstances, even after having been thrown so rudely off the rooftop, she could have easily gotten her bearings in the water and escaped into the crowd before Jen could follow. Unfortunately, her bad karma seemed to be holding up.
First there was the dragon. For a moment she thought she was going to land right on its back next to the oddly-dressed little man, but instead she only got a tail to the face, which knocked her into a wall. She grasped onto a window and attempted to hang there for a bit before she raised her head up and saw a badass-looking copbred staring her down from the other side of the window.
So she let herself fall until she hit the water at right about the same time as Jen. Almost immediately, the leggy bitch grabbed her wrist and pulled her above the surface. The disc seemed to have landed on an adjacent rooftop; Jen did not look pleased. "What's the fastest way up?" she asked Kath.
Kath groaned and pulled her along, the mostly-dead weight of the girl slowing her swim to an awkward crawl. The entrance to the edifice was swanky but vague about the place's purpose; a hotel maybe? She pulled Jen along into the shallows and went legs.
"Are all your buildings air on the inside?" asked Jen.
Kath shrugged. "Most on the west side, yes. In the east they're a drop more traditional."
This answer didn't seem to satisfy Jen. "How does the bubble work? Are you science types or magic types?"
"I don't know of either of those."
"Ah, one of those. How unhelpful." Jen wrung the water out of her scalp-hair. "To the roof. Fast."
Kath begrudgingly showed Jen the elevator, wondering what kind of awful strokes of luck awaited her on the roof. Probably a dragon, for one thing. And copbred.
Kath sang for the top floor and the elevator had hardly halfway risen when there was a burst of force that stopped it in its place and knocked Jen on her ass. Kath steadied herself. Outside, she heard screaming.
Jen sprang back up quickly and kicked out the window of the elevator. "Hope those legs work," she told Kath, raising her sword. "We're climbing. You first."
Kath growled and kicked Jen lightly in the shin. "They work." She limbered up a bit and began to scramble up the exterior of the building. Jen followed.
It took a few seconds for Kath to examine her surroundings. Above her was something large and dark blocking out the above-light; below, the air displacement was causing the bubble to wobble, sending twenty-foot-high waves slamming against the walls below. It was looking rather apocalyptic. Kath was pleased.
Atop the roof everything was cleared out except for some faintly glowing orange dragon tracks. Jen examined them closely for a few seconds, then angrily drew her sword and struck the rock. "Fucking dragon," she growled, then turned to Kath. "A fucking dragon, of all the... Shit."
There was a moment of silence.
3
A marlcop was following the floating disc across the trail of fairly level rooftops that led eastward. Jen motioned for Kath to follow and took pursuit. Kath weighed the odds of her dying, took note of the slightly wrong-looking mass that was slowly descending upon Hydresther, and ran after her, very quietly.
Jen (it was definitely Jen's fault) apparently underestimated the copbred's enhanced senses, and the man whipped around on his mount and silently leveled his handgun at them. Kath stopped and addressed Jen. "Watch it. From this range in the air his handgun won't do much damage but if he gets much closer he can rip us to droplets."
Jen contemplated this, seemed to decide she didn't care, and slowly began to advance. The copbred produced a dagger in his utility hand and called his steed over to the center of the roof, keeping one eye on each of the maids. He spoke:
"I've no business with either of ye. I called fer backup but I reckon they'd have been sidetracked checking out that situation." He took a quick glance behind him to watch the disc disappearing away into the distance (and Kath could now clearly see the spectral figure on top of it) and in the instant his back was turned Jen leapt about eight feet closer. The marlin whooped in alarm, and the cop absentmindedly fired in Jen's directing, knocking her flat.
"Aaah fuck!" shouted Jen, probably feeling the sudden noise more than the impact. Kath saw her chance and ran for the edge of the rooftop, only to find herself hit as well. The sonic blast out of the handgun knocked the wind out of her.
The marlcop floated over to Kath and hoisted her upward, waving his handgun in her face. "Oh, don't think I didn't notice you. You're a wanted maid. Armageddon 'r no, I'm not letting a murderer out onto the canals, eh?"
Jen, having recovered much faster than she should have, put Kath's sword to the marlcop's throat. "Eeeeeasy there, girl," said the cop. "You cut my throat and yer friend finds her head broken down inter plankton. Then my mount spooks. She used ter be a wild one, mind you, I'm the only one as managed to tame 'er." The marlin gave an inquisitive whoop. "Oh, no need ter worry, gal," murmured the copbred.
Jen smiled. "You're assuming that I give a shit whether that one--" indicating Kath-- "lives or dies."
"You scofflaw types are all the same. Loyal ter one another 'cause no one else'll give ye the time o' day. I'll call yer bluffs any day o' the week, little maid."
The tense standoff with a police officer was a new situation for Kath, who had spent the majority of her life evading the law in more... evasive ways. Accordingly she was a bit relieved when some manner of giant bipedal lizard fell out of the sky onto the copbred's head, knocking him off his mount. The marlin, as promised, spooked and ran, leaving the cop sprawled dazed on the ground. Jen brought the sword down onto his throat. His last handgun shot blast into the distance harmlessly.
Jen was shaking. "It's okay," said Kath, tentatively attempting to be reassuring. She held out her hand, hoping Jen would thoughtlessly give her the sword.
"Oh, not that. I've uh.... I've killed cops before. It's just... could you leave, please?"
Kath was a bit too confused to be relieved. "You want me to--"
"Just... go." Jen looked away as though trying to hide her face. Kath backed away, slowly.
Before she dove into the water, she looked back over at Jen one more time. The maid was bent over the copbred's body, and the lamprey was doing something to its torso...
Kath was a fucking mermaid. Under normal circumstances, even after having been thrown so rudely off the rooftop, she could have easily gotten her bearings in the water and escaped into the crowd before Jen could follow. Unfortunately, her bad karma seemed to be holding up.
First there was the dragon. For a moment she thought she was going to land right on its back next to the oddly-dressed little man, but instead she only got a tail to the face, which knocked her into a wall. She grasped onto a window and attempted to hang there for a bit before she raised her head up and saw a badass-looking copbred staring her down from the other side of the window.
So she let herself fall until she hit the water at right about the same time as Jen. Almost immediately, the leggy bitch grabbed her wrist and pulled her above the surface. The disc seemed to have landed on an adjacent rooftop; Jen did not look pleased. "What's the fastest way up?" she asked Kath.
Kath groaned and pulled her along, the mostly-dead weight of the girl slowing her swim to an awkward crawl. The entrance to the edifice was swanky but vague about the place's purpose; a hotel maybe? She pulled Jen along into the shallows and went legs.
"Are all your buildings air on the inside?" asked Jen.
Kath shrugged. "Most on the west side, yes. In the east they're a drop more traditional."
This answer didn't seem to satisfy Jen. "How does the bubble work? Are you science types or magic types?"
"I don't know of either of those."
"Ah, one of those. How unhelpful." Jen wrung the water out of her scalp-hair. "To the roof. Fast."
Kath begrudgingly showed Jen the elevator, wondering what kind of awful strokes of luck awaited her on the roof. Probably a dragon, for one thing. And copbred.
Kath sang for the top floor and the elevator had hardly halfway risen when there was a burst of force that stopped it in its place and knocked Jen on her ass. Kath steadied herself. Outside, she heard screaming.
Jen sprang back up quickly and kicked out the window of the elevator. "Hope those legs work," she told Kath, raising her sword. "We're climbing. You first."
Kath growled and kicked Jen lightly in the shin. "They work." She limbered up a bit and began to scramble up the exterior of the building. Jen followed.
It took a few seconds for Kath to examine her surroundings. Above her was something large and dark blocking out the above-light; below, the air displacement was causing the bubble to wobble, sending twenty-foot-high waves slamming against the walls below. It was looking rather apocalyptic. Kath was pleased.
Atop the roof everything was cleared out except for some faintly glowing orange dragon tracks. Jen examined them closely for a few seconds, then angrily drew her sword and struck the rock. "Fucking dragon," she growled, then turned to Kath. "A fucking dragon, of all the... Shit."
There was a moment of silence.
3
A marlcop was following the floating disc across the trail of fairly level rooftops that led eastward. Jen motioned for Kath to follow and took pursuit. Kath weighed the odds of her dying, took note of the slightly wrong-looking mass that was slowly descending upon Hydresther, and ran after her, very quietly.
Jen (it was definitely Jen's fault) apparently underestimated the copbred's enhanced senses, and the man whipped around on his mount and silently leveled his handgun at them. Kath stopped and addressed Jen. "Watch it. From this range in the air his handgun won't do much damage but if he gets much closer he can rip us to droplets."
Jen contemplated this, seemed to decide she didn't care, and slowly began to advance. The copbred produced a dagger in his utility hand and called his steed over to the center of the roof, keeping one eye on each of the maids. He spoke:
"I've no business with either of ye. I called fer backup but I reckon they'd have been sidetracked checking out that situation." He took a quick glance behind him to watch the disc disappearing away into the distance (and Kath could now clearly see the spectral figure on top of it) and in the instant his back was turned Jen leapt about eight feet closer. The marlin whooped in alarm, and the cop absentmindedly fired in Jen's directing, knocking her flat.
"Aaah fuck!" shouted Jen, probably feeling the sudden noise more than the impact. Kath saw her chance and ran for the edge of the rooftop, only to find herself hit as well. The sonic blast out of the handgun knocked the wind out of her.
The marlcop floated over to Kath and hoisted her upward, waving his handgun in her face. "Oh, don't think I didn't notice you. You're a wanted maid. Armageddon 'r no, I'm not letting a murderer out onto the canals, eh?"
Jen, having recovered much faster than she should have, put Kath's sword to the marlcop's throat. "Eeeeeasy there, girl," said the cop. "You cut my throat and yer friend finds her head broken down inter plankton. Then my mount spooks. She used ter be a wild one, mind you, I'm the only one as managed to tame 'er." The marlin gave an inquisitive whoop. "Oh, no need ter worry, gal," murmured the copbred.
Jen smiled. "You're assuming that I give a shit whether that one--" indicating Kath-- "lives or dies."
"You scofflaw types are all the same. Loyal ter one another 'cause no one else'll give ye the time o' day. I'll call yer bluffs any day o' the week, little maid."
The tense standoff with a police officer was a new situation for Kath, who had spent the majority of her life evading the law in more... evasive ways. Accordingly she was a bit relieved when some manner of giant bipedal lizard fell out of the sky onto the copbred's head, knocking him off his mount. The marlin, as promised, spooked and ran, leaving the cop sprawled dazed on the ground. Jen brought the sword down onto his throat. His last handgun shot blast into the distance harmlessly.
Jen was shaking. "It's okay," said Kath, tentatively attempting to be reassuring. She held out her hand, hoping Jen would thoughtlessly give her the sword.
"Oh, not that. I've uh.... I've killed cops before. It's just... could you leave, please?"
Kath was a bit too confused to be relieved. "You want me to--"
"Just... go." Jen looked away as though trying to hide her face. Kath backed away, slowly.
Before she dove into the water, she looked back over at Jen one more time. The maid was bent over the copbred's body, and the lamprey was doing something to its torso...