Re: The Phenomenal Fracas (GBS2G6) [Round Five: The Ambitus Phenomenon]
05-12-2012, 08:51 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
Eureka was starting to stir, her hand instinctively clutching her returned kitchen knife tight. Syvex had found with some relief that she hadn’t been teleported away at all and still remained in his arms once he had regained mobility. Glancing around the dim opera hall, he pushed away through the crowd to a place that was more or less secluded, in a corner that was shadowed by an overhanging balcony. Nobody seemed to particularly mind, engrossed in the party and in their drinks as they were. Their chatter seemed to be focused on the event and the opera that would apparently happen later in the evening.
Syvex set her down on the floor carefully as she groggily sat up, holding her head. She had actually woken up during the transition, but not fully, and was still struggling to get her surroundings into focus. “I…ow. S-syvex? Aahhh, shit, wh-what did – how am I…”
She caught sight of the knife in her hand and flinched away. It clattered on the floor.
“I – I…oh god…”
She found herself suddenly enveloped by six arms and immediately stiffened. Next to her ear, he whispered, “Calm down, okay? It wasn’t your fault. None of it. It’s fine now…you’re fine…”
They stayed like this for a while, her face pressed against one of his shoulders, and her gasps that threatened to tip into full-on tears slowly died away until they stopped completely. Syvex pulled away, finally, and the two of them sat together in the corner.
“How…how am I even alive?” she whispered to herself, looking down at the hole in her ratty sweatshirt and finally seeing her healed wound.
It was still black, but not black with Malevolence. It was her actual skin, she realized, and when she poked it, it felt like Syvex. Her breathing got slightly heavier.
“Okay, so you were bleeding really badly and I didn’t know what to do, so, ah, I think somehow I made my crazy regeneration powers take physical form and then it kinda did a healing thing so you stopped having a really big hole in you.”
Eureka was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Oh, is that all.”
She started to pick at the shreds of a suit that had miraculously managed to stick to her all this time and started mending it back together. “Okay, so I think that we need to blend into this place. So I suggest you wear something fancy.”
Syvex recoiled slightly. “What? No!”
“Look, I saw something that looked like a pile of crates and even that managed to dress up nicely! I can make holes for your spines or whatever, extra sleeves. It won’t hurt your mobility or anything, see?” And she forced it on him. Syvex struggled half-heartedly, but he eventually just accepted it. Eureka dusted off the shoulders and stood back, looking somewhat proud, but only briefly.
“What about you? How’re you going to blend in?” he asked, picking at the suit distastefully.
“Hey, I’ve made this look like a suit before,” she replied. Syvex would have raised an eyebrow if he had any.
“No dress?”
“No,” she said, adjusting her collar and already starting to join the crowd. “They tend to expose too much.”
Syvex followed and glanced around at the chittering opulence around him. The crowd chatted and murmured about the upcoming opera, which seemed to be about something something lovers and tragic romance or whatever. “What, like your arms?”
“Yes,” Eureka shot back. “I don’t like people looking at my arms. C’mon, help me find the coat check…”
The entrance hall seemed even bigger than the main hall that they had been in, but only because it wasn’t as crowded. A few people still strolled in through the doors, around the large, gaudy fountain that greeted them, but they all never lingered long and only added to the crowd ahead. Eureka dragged him past the fountain, which was golden and shiny and seemed to have a lot of naked babies on it, and to a desk where a well-groomed man stood, patiently accepting the coats of the entering guests.
Syvex glanced around the entrance hall again, not entirely interested in Eureka’s conversation. Now that he was actually standing right in it, it didn’t seem as glamorous as it had from the top of the stairs. The decorations were duller, the paint less even, the fountain –
What the.
Where’s the fountain.
“…do you really wish to leave so soon? The main even hasn’t even started, miss. It’s a wonderful opera, miss, an exciting drama about the revolution a hundred years ago…”
“Look, I’m sure, maybe I’ll come back later. Just let me find my number…” With a quick flick of a wrist, Eureka wrapped a grubby bandage around the man’s mouth, then around his arms. Without even bothering to see if anybody had seen that, she jumped over the counter, pushed the man over, and knocked him out. Syvex nervously followed.
“So…what are we doing?” The serpent asked when it seemed apparent that nobody had noticed a thing. Eureka started to grab coats and jackets off the hangers.
“When that Malevolence thing skewered me, it took out my sweatshirt pockets, so I’m low on bandages. Some of this fancy stuff isn’t gonna be as great, but it’s better than nothing. Watch out for anybody looking, okay?”
Syvex stared out to where the fountain used to be. “I’m not sure if you realize this, but I think anybody looking in over the counter could see you no matter what I did.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it, I’m only trimming strips off the edges.”
Syvex fingered the many cuffs of his suit. “How long’re you gonna take?”
“Look, I’m going as fast as I – shit!”
“What?”
“Some crazy weirdo had razor sharp cufflinks…” Eureka stared at her finger. “Syvex.”
“Uh. Yeah?”
“I was bleeding purple.”
“Oh. I…guess that’s the side-effect.”
“Syvex, I was bleeding purple and then it healed over black.” Eureka whirled around, strips of fancy coats falling to the floor. “Why am I regenerating? I thought that thing you did was just to heal this,” she gestured to her stomach. “Wasn’t it just a one-time magic heal-y thing?”
Syvex raised a few hands placatingly. “Look, I barely know what I did myself! All I know is that I had regeneration powers and you didn’t and I wanted you to start regenerating so that you didn’t bleed out on the floor or anything, and then there was this sparkly cloud thing and it helped you out! I dunno, maybe you have my regeneration thing now?”
Eureka stared at the small black slit that cut across her finger. “So wait, are you saying that I’m turning into – “
Had Syvex the ability to, he might have blinked. Eureka was gone.
Behind him, there was a fountain. Which wasn’t surprising at all. It had always been there, along with the gloriously-decorated entrance hall. On the base of the fountain were carved a list of dedications honoring those who had fought and died during the many terrible revolts long ago. One of them, apparently, was a woman named Eureka Finch.
Eureka was starting to stir, her hand instinctively clutching her returned kitchen knife tight. Syvex had found with some relief that she hadn’t been teleported away at all and still remained in his arms once he had regained mobility. Glancing around the dim opera hall, he pushed away through the crowd to a place that was more or less secluded, in a corner that was shadowed by an overhanging balcony. Nobody seemed to particularly mind, engrossed in the party and in their drinks as they were. Their chatter seemed to be focused on the event and the opera that would apparently happen later in the evening.
Syvex set her down on the floor carefully as she groggily sat up, holding her head. She had actually woken up during the transition, but not fully, and was still struggling to get her surroundings into focus. “I…ow. S-syvex? Aahhh, shit, wh-what did – how am I…”
She caught sight of the knife in her hand and flinched away. It clattered on the floor.
“I – I…oh god…”
She found herself suddenly enveloped by six arms and immediately stiffened. Next to her ear, he whispered, “Calm down, okay? It wasn’t your fault. None of it. It’s fine now…you’re fine…”
They stayed like this for a while, her face pressed against one of his shoulders, and her gasps that threatened to tip into full-on tears slowly died away until they stopped completely. Syvex pulled away, finally, and the two of them sat together in the corner.
“How…how am I even alive?” she whispered to herself, looking down at the hole in her ratty sweatshirt and finally seeing her healed wound.
It was still black, but not black with Malevolence. It was her actual skin, she realized, and when she poked it, it felt like Syvex. Her breathing got slightly heavier.
“Okay, so you were bleeding really badly and I didn’t know what to do, so, ah, I think somehow I made my crazy regeneration powers take physical form and then it kinda did a healing thing so you stopped having a really big hole in you.”
Eureka was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Oh, is that all.”
She started to pick at the shreds of a suit that had miraculously managed to stick to her all this time and started mending it back together. “Okay, so I think that we need to blend into this place. So I suggest you wear something fancy.”
Syvex recoiled slightly. “What? No!”
“Look, I saw something that looked like a pile of crates and even that managed to dress up nicely! I can make holes for your spines or whatever, extra sleeves. It won’t hurt your mobility or anything, see?” And she forced it on him. Syvex struggled half-heartedly, but he eventually just accepted it. Eureka dusted off the shoulders and stood back, looking somewhat proud, but only briefly.
“What about you? How’re you going to blend in?” he asked, picking at the suit distastefully.
“Hey, I’ve made this look like a suit before,” she replied. Syvex would have raised an eyebrow if he had any.
“No dress?”
“No,” she said, adjusting her collar and already starting to join the crowd. “They tend to expose too much.”
Syvex followed and glanced around at the chittering opulence around him. The crowd chatted and murmured about the upcoming opera, which seemed to be about something something lovers and tragic romance or whatever. “What, like your arms?”
“Yes,” Eureka shot back. “I don’t like people looking at my arms. C’mon, help me find the coat check…”
The entrance hall seemed even bigger than the main hall that they had been in, but only because it wasn’t as crowded. A few people still strolled in through the doors, around the large, gaudy fountain that greeted them, but they all never lingered long and only added to the crowd ahead. Eureka dragged him past the fountain, which was golden and shiny and seemed to have a lot of naked babies on it, and to a desk where a well-groomed man stood, patiently accepting the coats of the entering guests.
Syvex glanced around the entrance hall again, not entirely interested in Eureka’s conversation. Now that he was actually standing right in it, it didn’t seem as glamorous as it had from the top of the stairs. The decorations were duller, the paint less even, the fountain –
What the.
Where’s the fountain.
“…do you really wish to leave so soon? The main even hasn’t even started, miss. It’s a wonderful opera, miss, an exciting drama about the revolution a hundred years ago…”
“Look, I’m sure, maybe I’ll come back later. Just let me find my number…” With a quick flick of a wrist, Eureka wrapped a grubby bandage around the man’s mouth, then around his arms. Without even bothering to see if anybody had seen that, she jumped over the counter, pushed the man over, and knocked him out. Syvex nervously followed.
“So…what are we doing?” The serpent asked when it seemed apparent that nobody had noticed a thing. Eureka started to grab coats and jackets off the hangers.
“When that Malevolence thing skewered me, it took out my sweatshirt pockets, so I’m low on bandages. Some of this fancy stuff isn’t gonna be as great, but it’s better than nothing. Watch out for anybody looking, okay?”
Syvex stared out to where the fountain used to be. “I’m not sure if you realize this, but I think anybody looking in over the counter could see you no matter what I did.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it, I’m only trimming strips off the edges.”
Syvex fingered the many cuffs of his suit. “How long’re you gonna take?”
“Look, I’m going as fast as I – shit!”
“What?”
“Some crazy weirdo had razor sharp cufflinks…” Eureka stared at her finger. “Syvex.”
“Uh. Yeah?”
“I was bleeding purple.”
“Oh. I…guess that’s the side-effect.”
“Syvex, I was bleeding purple and then it healed over black.” Eureka whirled around, strips of fancy coats falling to the floor. “Why am I regenerating? I thought that thing you did was just to heal this,” she gestured to her stomach. “Wasn’t it just a one-time magic heal-y thing?”
Syvex raised a few hands placatingly. “Look, I barely know what I did myself! All I know is that I had regeneration powers and you didn’t and I wanted you to start regenerating so that you didn’t bleed out on the floor or anything, and then there was this sparkly cloud thing and it helped you out! I dunno, maybe you have my regeneration thing now?”
Eureka stared at the small black slit that cut across her finger. “So wait, are you saying that I’m turning into – “
Had Syvex the ability to, he might have blinked. Eureka was gone.
Behind him, there was a fountain. Which wasn’t surprising at all. It had always been there, along with the gloriously-decorated entrance hall. On the base of the fountain were carved a list of dedications honoring those who had fought and died during the many terrible revolts long ago. One of them, apparently, was a woman named Eureka Finch.