Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Four: The Warped Edifice]
08-02-2011, 03:30 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-28-2014, 06:09 AM by Anomaly.)
In an instant, Syvex found himself not tumbling through an endless expanse of clouds, but instead lying on a bed made of pork chops inside of what in some very strange circumstances might have passed for a ritzy hotel room. Very strange circumstances, in this case, would involve a hotel being made entirely of meat. Disoriented from the mid-air clash with his nemesis, Syvex slowly hoisted himself from his resting position and flopped to the ground with a sickening squelch and a spurt of blood from the floor. In disgusted surprise, Syvex immediately clung to the wall, a much less sickening slab of tenderloin. Any hunger Syvex may have possessed was long gone, and he thus failed to cartoonishly take a bite out of the upholstery. He instead very quickly made his way to the door, discovering in disgust that it was just as raw as the floor. He quickly turned the handle and threw the door open, then jumped out into the hall.
Now standing in a much more reasonable hallway made mostly of clocks (none of which were in sync), Syvex finally had time to think. Who had even died in the previous round? Despite Syvex's best intentions, the only person he was sure hadn't died was Tamerlane. It could have been the cultist-looking guy. Syvex had barely even seen him the whole battle, so it didn't matter all that much if he died. It could have been Ripper or Riko. The latter was much more useful than the former, and Syvex still wasn't entirely sure that he could trust the pirate. If one of them had died, Syvex hoped it was Blackmask.
Syvex became uneasy. It could have been Eureka. He hadn't stayed with her; he had just dropped her off in an elevator and walked away! He didn't make sure that they got the Malevolence's tentacle out of her, he didn't make sure of anything! He had just waltzed off and let her get captured by the sandman, and she could very well have died while Syvex decided to be an idiot and not kill him outright when he had the chance.
No, no, no. She couldn't have been dead. The odds were against her being dead. He would find her, and he would protect her from whatever psychopath was left in the "Abominable Fricasse" or whatever the hell it was called.
But between Syvex and Eureka stood a labyrinth. What had the voice said? Something about an item in the middle of the place which horribly distorted the building, and something about an instant-death knife in it. Apparently, the building also crippled everyone's non-physical powers. Syvex hadn't payed much attention in the meatroom because of the bright lighting, but in the dim hallway Syvex noted his utter lack of vision. He could barely see fifteen feet away, and seeing through walls was out of the question. Syvex sighed. After all that effort, he was still weak. His regeneration probably wouldn't even work all that well as long as he was here. His normal approach of bum-rushing everything in his path would only serve to get him killed. Portals weren't even a factor anymore.
Syvex turned around to face the open, bleeding meat door, from which a horrible stench emanated. Next to this aperture was a room number plate, no different from one you'd see in a reasonable hotel. No different, that is, except for the number. The inscription on the plate was a mash of unrecognizable symbols, most of which Syvex had never seen before. The serpent slowly reached out an arm to touch the plate, but immediately flinched back when he discovered the plate was made of an extremely hot metal, not unlike a stovetop. The pain from the burn was severe, much more than Syvex was used to. The power-dampening field had evidently reduced his pain-tolerance as a side-effect to the loss of his regeneration.
Clutching tightly the less-than-half-full bottle of Château de Caliginosity, Syvex started in an arbitrary direction down the ticking hallway. Around a corner, the hallway suddenly became one made entirely of sponge, and then one made of glass. The glass hallway seemed to stop suddenly at a wall, but upon slight inspection it appeared that the hallway actually continued straight up. Perplexed, Syvex began scaling the wall, passing countless doors made of materials ranging from dry ice to cherry Jell-O. Still tilted to the side, the hallway angled several times, twisting around in a snake-like fashion with no semblance of pattern.
After several minutes of random, clueless wandering, Syvex eventually caught wind of a voice in the distance. He made his way toward the voice, the rough, scratchy accent of which became clearer by the second. Blackmask was definitely nearby, and Syvex was growing closer by the second. After climbing halfway up another vertical hallway, Syvex reached a door made of solid gold, from behind which the voice was emanating. Syvex took a few moments to mull over his options. Ripper had briefly been his "ally", though after the incident on top of the train Syvex couldn't be certain. Although, in honesty, the incident took place in the mind and didn't actually make much sense to the serpent. The pirate was both weak and disarmed anyway, so it was safe enough to at least try.
Syvex knocked on the door.
Now standing in a much more reasonable hallway made mostly of clocks (none of which were in sync), Syvex finally had time to think. Who had even died in the previous round? Despite Syvex's best intentions, the only person he was sure hadn't died was Tamerlane. It could have been the cultist-looking guy. Syvex had barely even seen him the whole battle, so it didn't matter all that much if he died. It could have been Ripper or Riko. The latter was much more useful than the former, and Syvex still wasn't entirely sure that he could trust the pirate. If one of them had died, Syvex hoped it was Blackmask.
Syvex became uneasy. It could have been Eureka. He hadn't stayed with her; he had just dropped her off in an elevator and walked away! He didn't make sure that they got the Malevolence's tentacle out of her, he didn't make sure of anything! He had just waltzed off and let her get captured by the sandman, and she could very well have died while Syvex decided to be an idiot and not kill him outright when he had the chance.
No, no, no. She couldn't have been dead. The odds were against her being dead. He would find her, and he would protect her from whatever psychopath was left in the "Abominable Fricasse" or whatever the hell it was called.
But between Syvex and Eureka stood a labyrinth. What had the voice said? Something about an item in the middle of the place which horribly distorted the building, and something about an instant-death knife in it. Apparently, the building also crippled everyone's non-physical powers. Syvex hadn't payed much attention in the meatroom because of the bright lighting, but in the dim hallway Syvex noted his utter lack of vision. He could barely see fifteen feet away, and seeing through walls was out of the question. Syvex sighed. After all that effort, he was still weak. His regeneration probably wouldn't even work all that well as long as he was here. His normal approach of bum-rushing everything in his path would only serve to get him killed. Portals weren't even a factor anymore.
Syvex turned around to face the open, bleeding meat door, from which a horrible stench emanated. Next to this aperture was a room number plate, no different from one you'd see in a reasonable hotel. No different, that is, except for the number. The inscription on the plate was a mash of unrecognizable symbols, most of which Syvex had never seen before. The serpent slowly reached out an arm to touch the plate, but immediately flinched back when he discovered the plate was made of an extremely hot metal, not unlike a stovetop. The pain from the burn was severe, much more than Syvex was used to. The power-dampening field had evidently reduced his pain-tolerance as a side-effect to the loss of his regeneration.
Clutching tightly the less-than-half-full bottle of Château de Caliginosity, Syvex started in an arbitrary direction down the ticking hallway. Around a corner, the hallway suddenly became one made entirely of sponge, and then one made of glass. The glass hallway seemed to stop suddenly at a wall, but upon slight inspection it appeared that the hallway actually continued straight up. Perplexed, Syvex began scaling the wall, passing countless doors made of materials ranging from dry ice to cherry Jell-O. Still tilted to the side, the hallway angled several times, twisting around in a snake-like fashion with no semblance of pattern.
After several minutes of random, clueless wandering, Syvex eventually caught wind of a voice in the distance. He made his way toward the voice, the rough, scratchy accent of which became clearer by the second. Blackmask was definitely nearby, and Syvex was growing closer by the second. After climbing halfway up another vertical hallway, Syvex reached a door made of solid gold, from behind which the voice was emanating. Syvex took a few moments to mull over his options. Ripper had briefly been his "ally", though after the incident on top of the train Syvex couldn't be certain. Although, in honesty, the incident took place in the mind and didn't actually make much sense to the serpent. The pirate was both weak and disarmed anyway, so it was safe enough to at least try.
Syvex knocked on the door.