Re: The Savage Brawl [Round 4: Small 50s Town]
11-06-2010, 07:50 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
The dimension the Cultivator was paying a visit to was, well, maybe not the complete opposite, but at least quite contrary. While the Cultivator's domain was white and decorated cheerfully, if not messily, this place had a suffocating blackness about it and was rather sparse, except for a few, drab machinery and a chair. Sitting in that chair now was the Monitor.
The Cultivator stopped and glanced around sadly, thinking that some bright colors would really add something to the place, until the Monitor stopped typing away rapidly at something and turned towards his visitor. Somehow, even without a face, he managed to emit general annoyance. Still, he said politely, "Hello, Cultivator. May I ask what you are doing here? A favor, perhaps?"
"Hi Manny!" the Cultivator grinned. The Monitor let out a mechanical 'hrrrrmm.' "How's it going? You really should have some trees here or something. It's so bleak! It looks like a lonely man's basement! Maybe you should get out more, you know? Fresh air is good for you." The woman nodded to herself and examined the darkness as though there was something to examine.
The Monitor waited for the realization that he was actually quite robotic and thus wasn't really affected by how fresh the air was, but it didn't come. The Cultivator started humming something, obviously waiting for some sort of reply. The Monitor 'hrrrmm'ed again, tapping his chair before replying.
"I am doing rather well. My two battles may not be generating as much data as I'd hoped, however. I have also heard you have started a battle. How is that going?"
The question came out a little blunt and accusatory. The Cultivator winced noticeably. "Good, good...hey, you know, I've been learning a few neat things while that Brawl's been going on! Wanna see?"
"And how is the Brawl going, by the way?"
"I've been learning some neat magic tricks!"
"Alright, but what about your battle?" the Monitor repeated patiently. He paused for a moment. "...Magic tricks?"
"I'm glad you asked!" the Cultivator chirped, either completely misinterpreting the Monitor's tone or pouncing on the opportunity to continue avoiding the topic of battles. She produced a coin from out of nowhere. "See, there's these neat slight-of-hand stuff, you know? It really involves lots of quick movements and and and..." With a flick of the wrist, the coin seemed to disappear. With another, it was back in her hand. "I've been learning stuff with cards too, and it's amazing what you can do with mirrors..."
The Monitor stared for a moment. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he started, sounding more cross than before, "But I am quite certain that you could just make the coin disappear without roundabout trickery."
"No, no wait, you don't understand! It's slight-of-hand illusion! It takes, you know, more skill and practice and stuff to really make it believable and--"
"And what about your battle," the Monitor interrupted blankly.
Realizing that she could no longer dance around the issue, the Cultivator shifted uneasily and spun the coin expertly around her fingers. Her smile faltered for a minute. "Yeah. Ah. About that."
"You got bored of it."
"I can't help it!" the Cultivator retorted defensively. "I mean seriously, it's not as interesting as everybody makes it out to be. I mean, I was hoping to see more...I dunno...ugh. It's boring."
"Just to make sure, we are talking about the same battle that turned a giant's house completely upside-down and blew up the underworld and, right now, is basically throwing explosion after explosion, are we?" The Cultivator nodded glumly. "You are probably the only being I know who would find bloodshed boring."
"I mean, I dunno, I was thinking I'd see...like, really big scheming stuff. Backstabbing. Or at least some cool revolt against the higher power, you know, me."
The Monitor stared at her, a little baffled. Then a thought occured to him. "Have you even been following your own battle recently?"
"Um?" The Cultivator replied. "Maybe....a little? Sort of? There...might've been some sort of annoying message from my computer...? Why? What happened?"
"Oh, nothing." The robotic grandmaster was slightly proud that he managed not to say it suspiciously fast. "In any case, you never told me why you came here."
The coin was now spinning so fast that it appeared to be orbiting around her fingers at a rate of three revolutions per second. "Right. Um. So. Since I'm doing, er, magic tricks...I may be too busy to...er...I don't have a lot of rounds prepared for the battle right now..."
"Really? How many?"
"Uh. None."
The Monitor made another 'hrrrrmm' sound. "I'm not going to let you dump your battle on me," he said rather reproachfully.
"Oh, no, no, of course not. Just one round. I need, uh, time. For the rest of the rounds."
"And you won't procrastinate and continue to fool around with silly magic tricks."
"No, no, of course not." she grinned uneasily and her eyes glanced off to the side and she brushed away her hair.
"And if I remember correctly, you borrowed a few things of mine..."
The Cultivator bit her lip as she recalled her piles of stuff. Not that she didn't know where everything was. Of course she did. "Right, right, your video games. I, uh, I'll return them when I'm done."
The Monitor had the feeling that he would never see them again.
"Right. I'll see what I can do.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you I'll make it up to you I swear. I knew there was a reason you were my favorite, Manny! I'll get those games back to you as quick as I can, really. And, uh, don't tell anybody about this. I mean, it'll sort of be embarrassing." And with that, the Cultivator disappeared again.
The Monitor turned his chair around back to the various screens and leaned back, contemplating something. He glanced at the remaining stack of video games he had left. He checked the rounds he had prepared for his own battles. With a sense of satisfaction, he inserted a disc into one of his many computers. He idly wondered when the Cultivator would change her name once more.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There seemed to be a strange delay before the remaining contestants were transported out and into black nothing once again.
"Hello," a droning voice boomed. It was decidedly not at all the Cultivator. It wasn't even female, for one thing. "I am aware none of you know who I am and you don't need to. The Cultivator has asked me to take over for her temporarily. She's a little..." and here, they could practically hear his eyes roll, "...busy. This will probably be the only time you will hear from me. Although it wouldn't surprise me a bit if she asks me for help again."
By this time, the scenery started blending into something substantial. Surrounding the contestants now was a quaint town that wouldn't look strange if it was in a black and white photograph. A few boxy cars were parked along the two-lane street and blocky signs adorned some of the stores. Nobody seemed to be walking around just yet, not surprising, as dawn appeared to be just breaking. Although right now, it was frozen in a constant state of breaking.
"This is a rather small town. Really, just an ordinary town where all the inhabitants are familiar with each other. I'm sure most of you have ravaged one or two of these in the past, you should understand the basic concept. I realize it may seem a rather dull arena, other than the opportunities to slaughter the helpless, but I assure you that it will most likely not remain that way. For reasons which will become clear soon enough." The unfamiliar voice faded and the sun continued ambling its way upward.
The dimension the Cultivator was paying a visit to was, well, maybe not the complete opposite, but at least quite contrary. While the Cultivator's domain was white and decorated cheerfully, if not messily, this place had a suffocating blackness about it and was rather sparse, except for a few, drab machinery and a chair. Sitting in that chair now was the Monitor.
The Cultivator stopped and glanced around sadly, thinking that some bright colors would really add something to the place, until the Monitor stopped typing away rapidly at something and turned towards his visitor. Somehow, even without a face, he managed to emit general annoyance. Still, he said politely, "Hello, Cultivator. May I ask what you are doing here? A favor, perhaps?"
"Hi Manny!" the Cultivator grinned. The Monitor let out a mechanical 'hrrrrmm.' "How's it going? You really should have some trees here or something. It's so bleak! It looks like a lonely man's basement! Maybe you should get out more, you know? Fresh air is good for you." The woman nodded to herself and examined the darkness as though there was something to examine.
The Monitor waited for the realization that he was actually quite robotic and thus wasn't really affected by how fresh the air was, but it didn't come. The Cultivator started humming something, obviously waiting for some sort of reply. The Monitor 'hrrrmm'ed again, tapping his chair before replying.
"I am doing rather well. My two battles may not be generating as much data as I'd hoped, however. I have also heard you have started a battle. How is that going?"
The question came out a little blunt and accusatory. The Cultivator winced noticeably. "Good, good...hey, you know, I've been learning a few neat things while that Brawl's been going on! Wanna see?"
"And how is the Brawl going, by the way?"
"I've been learning some neat magic tricks!"
"Alright, but what about your battle?" the Monitor repeated patiently. He paused for a moment. "...Magic tricks?"
"I'm glad you asked!" the Cultivator chirped, either completely misinterpreting the Monitor's tone or pouncing on the opportunity to continue avoiding the topic of battles. She produced a coin from out of nowhere. "See, there's these neat slight-of-hand stuff, you know? It really involves lots of quick movements and and and..." With a flick of the wrist, the coin seemed to disappear. With another, it was back in her hand. "I've been learning stuff with cards too, and it's amazing what you can do with mirrors..."
The Monitor stared for a moment. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he started, sounding more cross than before, "But I am quite certain that you could just make the coin disappear without roundabout trickery."
"No, no wait, you don't understand! It's slight-of-hand illusion! It takes, you know, more skill and practice and stuff to really make it believable and--"
"And what about your battle," the Monitor interrupted blankly.
Realizing that she could no longer dance around the issue, the Cultivator shifted uneasily and spun the coin expertly around her fingers. Her smile faltered for a minute. "Yeah. Ah. About that."
"You got bored of it."
"I can't help it!" the Cultivator retorted defensively. "I mean seriously, it's not as interesting as everybody makes it out to be. I mean, I was hoping to see more...I dunno...ugh. It's boring."
"Just to make sure, we are talking about the same battle that turned a giant's house completely upside-down and blew up the underworld and, right now, is basically throwing explosion after explosion, are we?" The Cultivator nodded glumly. "You are probably the only being I know who would find bloodshed boring."
"I mean, I dunno, I was thinking I'd see...like, really big scheming stuff. Backstabbing. Or at least some cool revolt against the higher power, you know, me."
The Monitor stared at her, a little baffled. Then a thought occured to him. "Have you even been following your own battle recently?"
"Um?" The Cultivator replied. "Maybe....a little? Sort of? There...might've been some sort of annoying message from my computer...? Why? What happened?"
"Oh, nothing." The robotic grandmaster was slightly proud that he managed not to say it suspiciously fast. "In any case, you never told me why you came here."
The coin was now spinning so fast that it appeared to be orbiting around her fingers at a rate of three revolutions per second. "Right. Um. So. Since I'm doing, er, magic tricks...I may be too busy to...er...I don't have a lot of rounds prepared for the battle right now..."
"Really? How many?"
"Uh. None."
The Monitor made another 'hrrrrmm' sound. "I'm not going to let you dump your battle on me," he said rather reproachfully.
"Oh, no, no, of course not. Just one round. I need, uh, time. For the rest of the rounds."
"And you won't procrastinate and continue to fool around with silly magic tricks."
"No, no, of course not." she grinned uneasily and her eyes glanced off to the side and she brushed away her hair.
"And if I remember correctly, you borrowed a few things of mine..."
The Cultivator bit her lip as she recalled her piles of stuff. Not that she didn't know where everything was. Of course she did. "Right, right, your video games. I, uh, I'll return them when I'm done."
The Monitor had the feeling that he would never see them again.
"Right. I'll see what I can do.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you I'll make it up to you I swear. I knew there was a reason you were my favorite, Manny! I'll get those games back to you as quick as I can, really. And, uh, don't tell anybody about this. I mean, it'll sort of be embarrassing." And with that, the Cultivator disappeared again.
The Monitor turned his chair around back to the various screens and leaned back, contemplating something. He glanced at the remaining stack of video games he had left. He checked the rounds he had prepared for his own battles. With a sense of satisfaction, he inserted a disc into one of his many computers. He idly wondered when the Cultivator would change her name once more.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There seemed to be a strange delay before the remaining contestants were transported out and into black nothing once again.
"Hello," a droning voice boomed. It was decidedly not at all the Cultivator. It wasn't even female, for one thing. "I am aware none of you know who I am and you don't need to. The Cultivator has asked me to take over for her temporarily. She's a little..." and here, they could practically hear his eyes roll, "...busy. This will probably be the only time you will hear from me. Although it wouldn't surprise me a bit if she asks me for help again."
By this time, the scenery started blending into something substantial. Surrounding the contestants now was a quaint town that wouldn't look strange if it was in a black and white photograph. A few boxy cars were parked along the two-lane street and blocky signs adorned some of the stores. Nobody seemed to be walking around just yet, not surprising, as dawn appeared to be just breaking. Although right now, it was frozen in a constant state of breaking.
"This is a rather small town. Really, just an ordinary town where all the inhabitants are familiar with each other. I'm sure most of you have ravaged one or two of these in the past, you should understand the basic concept. I realize it may seem a rather dull arena, other than the opportunities to slaughter the helpless, but I assure you that it will most likely not remain that way. For reasons which will become clear soon enough." The unfamiliar voice faded and the sun continued ambling its way upward.