Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round III - Vorlon Complex]
09-24-2011, 08:20 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by PlumFinder.
Loran knelt by the pair of rectangular glasses.
'This is not Apathy.'
'The glasses are hers,' OTTO observed.
'I don't want her glasses,' Loran said angrily. He picked up the glasses and examined them for a moment, before throwing them against the wall, where they shattered. 'You two told me Apathy was here.'
'A minute ago,' Greyve corrected him, though he sounded unsure of himself now. 'She was here a minute ago.'
'Now she is gone,' OTTO added.
'Gone where?' Loran snarled at the two of them. He had hoped, for a short moment, that they might actually be good for something.
'Unknown,' OTTO stated.
'She's gone.' Greyve said. He was looking round the corridor with a puzzled expression on his face.
'Right, whatever,' Loran said. He disappointedly sheathed his knives. 'I don't want to hear a word from you two anymore. You've had your chance.'
There was a trail of fluorescent yellow dots on the floor, starting near the place Loran had found Apathy's glasses. He was of half a mind to follow it. There was high likelihood of it being a trap of some kind, but on the other hand, it might be something Apathy was doing, walking around confused and with her mind muddled. Perhaps she was even bleeding. For all he knew her blood was yellow.
'It's not Apathy,' Greyve said, studying the trail with growing bewilderment. 'I told you, she's gone.'
'And I'm telling you that she's probably gone in that direction!' Loran said. He was clutching the hilt of a dagger, even though it would be of no use. He could hardly kill Greyve.
'Why thank you!' Greyve said, shooting him a mocking smile.
'Because you are already dead, asshole. I would gladly kill you otherwise.'
'I'm not sorry for you,' Greyve muttered, returning to examining the trail. 'Anyway, Apathy hasn't gone in the direction of the trail. I would know if she had.'
He followed the trail around a corner.
'Stay here!' Loran shouted at him. 'You just said -!'
'I know what I said!' Greyve yelled back. 'I don't know where she is, but I know where she isn't!'
'What Greyve is trying to say,' OTTO explained calmly, 'is that Apathy appears to be no longer in this complex. For a few minutes following the incident, we both experienced a certain connection with her, best described as a mental link. I was aware of her running down this corridor, and of the fear she felt. As you were making your way here, Apathy disappeared.'
'The connection broke?' Loran suggested mockingly. 'She found a way to get you out of her head?'
'Possibly.' OTTO admitted. 'The glasses we found suggest otherwise.'
Loran nodded, looking at the trail. Perhaps she was unconsious. Someone could have ambushed her and dragged her somewhere else. In that case the trail really could be her blood. Except if it was blood, Apathy had the most rythmic wound he had ever seen. The dots were evenly spaced, and all perfectly round, and very much gave the impression of a deliberate addition to the corridor.
'I agree,' Greyve said, returning to Loran's side. 'Apathy's gone further away than a few corridors.'
'Alright,' Loran said. 'Does the trail go on far past the corner?'
'Dunno,' Greyve shrugged. 'I don't actually have eyes. I only see what you see.'
'Then why the hell did you follow the trail?'
'To annoy you,' Greyve chuckled. 'Worked, didn't it?'
Loran aimed a kick at him. His foot went right through the hallucination.
Greyve chuckled again, and Loran stepped close to him.
'No more jokes, or I swear to God, I will find a way to kill you again. If I have to make peace with Voitrach by ceremonically swearing an oath of not-killing except for carrots and have him scorch the precise part of my brain that is you out of my head with a rusted pickaxe, I will fucking do it!'
He wasn't sure if it was the threat or something his mind did unconsiously, but Greyve's smile vanished and he stepped away from Loran, a little paler than before. Loran nodded, and went to look around the corner.
The trail continued there, going on for several hundred feet before taking another turn to the left. It made a short detour towards a large door halfway down the corridor, but didn't appear to go inside. Whoever had made it didn't appear to have a clear destination in mind. Which left the question: Follow it, or not?
Loran could hear Greyve and OTTO softly talking to each other behind him. That was another question he'd have to think about. They seemed so much more real than any of the other hallucinations he'd ever had. Mostly, those had been manifestations of his fear or worries, one-dimensional caricatures of people he knew. They had never gone out of their way to make him angry, and had certainly never told him things he didn't know himself.
He thought he knew what was going on though. The mindlink they had with Apathy was a big clue. It seemed they were not just build from Loran's own memories, but also from Apathy's. There had been a direct connection between their minds, after all, however short. The double input of information, combined with the increased effort his mind was putting in the hallucinations, might've made them multi-dimensional.
'I like that,' Greyve said. 'I bet OTTO likes it even more. It's all sciency and stuff.'
'It does appear to be a valid theory,' OTTO agreed.
'Are you going to build a spaceship next?' Greyve asked.
Loran really preferred the one-dimensional ones.
'There is one flaw, however,' OTTO added, after a short pause.
'I can't believe you are disagreeing with me,' Loran said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. 'What flaw?'
Greyve grinned at him, and pointed to the ceiling.
'Felix is up there, about three stories higher. Will feels near him, but he's hard to pinpoint for some reason. Anneliese is completely of the map, except for a vague sense of being somewhere. Voitrach is even further away, and keeps fading in and out, like he's constantly falling asleep.'
'Correct,' OTTO said. 'None of them is remotely in the direction of the trail.'
Loran looked from one to the other, unsure if they were mocking him again.
'Go and look,' Greyve said. 'You will find them where we say they are. Explain that, science boy.'
Loran knelt by the pair of rectangular glasses.
'This is not Apathy.'
'The glasses are hers,' OTTO observed.
'I don't want her glasses,' Loran said angrily. He picked up the glasses and examined them for a moment, before throwing them against the wall, where they shattered. 'You two told me Apathy was here.'
'A minute ago,' Greyve corrected him, though he sounded unsure of himself now. 'She was here a minute ago.'
'Now she is gone,' OTTO added.
'Gone where?' Loran snarled at the two of them. He had hoped, for a short moment, that they might actually be good for something.
'Unknown,' OTTO stated.
'She's gone.' Greyve said. He was looking round the corridor with a puzzled expression on his face.
'Right, whatever,' Loran said. He disappointedly sheathed his knives. 'I don't want to hear a word from you two anymore. You've had your chance.'
There was a trail of fluorescent yellow dots on the floor, starting near the place Loran had found Apathy's glasses. He was of half a mind to follow it. There was high likelihood of it being a trap of some kind, but on the other hand, it might be something Apathy was doing, walking around confused and with her mind muddled. Perhaps she was even bleeding. For all he knew her blood was yellow.
'It's not Apathy,' Greyve said, studying the trail with growing bewilderment. 'I told you, she's gone.'
'And I'm telling you that she's probably gone in that direction!' Loran said. He was clutching the hilt of a dagger, even though it would be of no use. He could hardly kill Greyve.
'Why thank you!' Greyve said, shooting him a mocking smile.
'Because you are already dead, asshole. I would gladly kill you otherwise.'
'I'm not sorry for you,' Greyve muttered, returning to examining the trail. 'Anyway, Apathy hasn't gone in the direction of the trail. I would know if she had.'
He followed the trail around a corner.
'Stay here!' Loran shouted at him. 'You just said -!'
'I know what I said!' Greyve yelled back. 'I don't know where she is, but I know where she isn't!'
'What Greyve is trying to say,' OTTO explained calmly, 'is that Apathy appears to be no longer in this complex. For a few minutes following the incident, we both experienced a certain connection with her, best described as a mental link. I was aware of her running down this corridor, and of the fear she felt. As you were making your way here, Apathy disappeared.'
'The connection broke?' Loran suggested mockingly. 'She found a way to get you out of her head?'
'Possibly.' OTTO admitted. 'The glasses we found suggest otherwise.'
Loran nodded, looking at the trail. Perhaps she was unconsious. Someone could have ambushed her and dragged her somewhere else. In that case the trail really could be her blood. Except if it was blood, Apathy had the most rythmic wound he had ever seen. The dots were evenly spaced, and all perfectly round, and very much gave the impression of a deliberate addition to the corridor.
'I agree,' Greyve said, returning to Loran's side. 'Apathy's gone further away than a few corridors.'
'Alright,' Loran said. 'Does the trail go on far past the corner?'
'Dunno,' Greyve shrugged. 'I don't actually have eyes. I only see what you see.'
'Then why the hell did you follow the trail?'
'To annoy you,' Greyve chuckled. 'Worked, didn't it?'
Loran aimed a kick at him. His foot went right through the hallucination.
Greyve chuckled again, and Loran stepped close to him.
'No more jokes, or I swear to God, I will find a way to kill you again. If I have to make peace with Voitrach by ceremonically swearing an oath of not-killing except for carrots and have him scorch the precise part of my brain that is you out of my head with a rusted pickaxe, I will fucking do it!'
He wasn't sure if it was the threat or something his mind did unconsiously, but Greyve's smile vanished and he stepped away from Loran, a little paler than before. Loran nodded, and went to look around the corner.
The trail continued there, going on for several hundred feet before taking another turn to the left. It made a short detour towards a large door halfway down the corridor, but didn't appear to go inside. Whoever had made it didn't appear to have a clear destination in mind. Which left the question: Follow it, or not?
Loran could hear Greyve and OTTO softly talking to each other behind him. That was another question he'd have to think about. They seemed so much more real than any of the other hallucinations he'd ever had. Mostly, those had been manifestations of his fear or worries, one-dimensional caricatures of people he knew. They had never gone out of their way to make him angry, and had certainly never told him things he didn't know himself.
He thought he knew what was going on though. The mindlink they had with Apathy was a big clue. It seemed they were not just build from Loran's own memories, but also from Apathy's. There had been a direct connection between their minds, after all, however short. The double input of information, combined with the increased effort his mind was putting in the hallucinations, might've made them multi-dimensional.
'I like that,' Greyve said. 'I bet OTTO likes it even more. It's all sciency and stuff.'
'It does appear to be a valid theory,' OTTO agreed.
'Are you going to build a spaceship next?' Greyve asked.
Loran really preferred the one-dimensional ones.
'There is one flaw, however,' OTTO added, after a short pause.
'I can't believe you are disagreeing with me,' Loran said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. 'What flaw?'
Greyve grinned at him, and pointed to the ceiling.
'Felix is up there, about three stories higher. Will feels near him, but he's hard to pinpoint for some reason. Anneliese is completely of the map, except for a vague sense of being somewhere. Voitrach is even further away, and keeps fading in and out, like he's constantly falling asleep.'
'Correct,' OTTO said. 'None of them is remotely in the direction of the trail.'
Loran looked from one to the other, unsure if they were mocking him again.
'Go and look,' Greyve said. 'You will find them where we say they are. Explain that, science boy.'