Re: The Savage Brawl [Round 5: Battletopia]
05-25-2012, 06:52 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by SleepingOrange.
It had been... Glorious. How could mere words describe the elation? From the beginning of the Savage Brawl, Ekelhaft had enjoyed itself immensely, viscerally, even carnally. The destruction and chaos it had sown was satisfying on a level it hadn't been able to achieve in countless ages. But even all that had paled into forgetability the instant Jedesburg had materialized. So many lives to cut short, so much blood and bone to drink in, so much flesh and eventually mana to bolster a body that had been ravaged by old time and new war. So many buildings to crush, so much scenery to tear through.
Truly, truly glorious.
Ekelhaft had amused itself unto near mindlessness for... How long had it been? It didn't matter. It had long since – ha! – moved past the need for measuring time. Now, all that mattered was the moment. Even its hatred of and homicidal plans towards the cyborg were deferred. Its death would come, and Ekelhaft would be the one to deal it, certainly, but not now. Now, it was time to kill, which it did enthusiastically, methodically, and without remorse. Every soul it tore from a body strengthened the long-emaciated ooze, and every pound of corpse it consumed doubled that.
As it had torn through the town, unknowingly coming closer to Hoss's location, it had gotten harder and harder to find targets. Partially because it had killed to many so quickly that it was running out, and doubtless partially because the other gnats it was battling were taking their own toll. But mostly, it seemed that the appearance of great saucers in the sky and the subsequent meaty counterattack were taking their toll on the population and sending survivors fleeing. They didn't concern Ekelhaft unduly; they were up there and it was down here. What could it do? It let them skirmish above, quietly relishing the devastation they were causing like a craftsman impressed by a talented pupil, and concentrated on extirpating the taint of life from the surface.
But, as time went on, kills became even scarcer than they already had. It was to be expected, of course, but it was still disappointing. Eventually, it was spending more time devouring the corpses left by other marauders than creating fresh ones for itself. Still, it wasn't going to complain about a ready source of raw material; by now, the bathtubful of noisome green had transformed into something that could reasonably displace a suburban swimming pool's contents. Even as it rankled at the act of creation, it relished its increased destructive potential, and continued its search for targets and meals.
And then, it found them. They had changed, both, but a thousand eyes still saw them for what they were. They didn't even seem to recognize each other, but it certainly did. Ziirphael was forgettable, an easy target for a later date, but the fact that Hoss had presented himself and was so seemingly vulnerable thrilled the ancient psychopath. Not stopping to examine now that his quarry was so obligingly asking for death, Ekelhaft surged forward, salivating acid, and watched as
time
stretched
o__u________t
An endless moment surrounded the blob of malevolent intent; it couldn't move, which was absurd because of course it could it was moving right now. The awareness of its state, trapped in a distortion field, clashed with its perception of the moment as just a moment. It tried to blink with eyelids it didn't have, only to see the world buzz past at speeds that rendered events meaningless. Its vision crowded with the appearance of dark shapes and bright blasts, then the field vanished and Ekelhaft was left facing down artillery that would reduce it to atomic ash. And then it disappeared.
---
It had been... Unbearable. How could mere words describe the frustration? From the beginning of Self's conscious existence, it had experienced one setback and annoyance after another. The lich had proved an adequate source of entertainment and a better one of spare mana – at least before Hoss's unintentionally created burst – right up until it had become impossible to follow him. Or Ziirphael. And Self was left alone and small, too unthreatening to menace a hound and too slow to find another target.
At least, it had thought so. Eventually, its wanderings had lead it to a much more satisfying situation, but predictably those had been wrenched away from it again before it had a chance to really savor it. Self seemed to be in control of absolutely nothing, and was threatening to collapse back into the ennui-riddled stupor that had consumed it back when it had been Ekelhaft on an empty, dead planet. It idly hoped, in the brief moments between disappearance and transfer, that the next round would show it if not kindness then at least opportunity.
---
The broadcast hadn't blared across Battletopia yet, but frankly it was more a reminder to civilians than a call to arms. Kracht's information had already predicted that it would be today that the contestants in the Savage Brawl would arrive, and every member of the city's ubiquitous police force slash militia was on duty and high alert. For most of the incoming targets, it was enough that their approximate location was known in advance with reasonable accuracy; even Hoss himself, the entire focus of the regime's efforts, was considered safe enough to work with some uncertainty. But one was so destructive and powerful – and, most saliently, so likely to potentially result in the death of a contestant other than Hoss – that there was simply no room for error, especially given the complex arrangements that would have to be made for its capture.
Of course, that contestant was Ekelhaft. Even in a universe the madgod had never before been – in its own timeline, at least – it had already made organized enemies.
To that end, Kracht had personally sent his chief diviner, Major Jungfrau, to coordinate the arrival of the most sensitive target. She'd spent the weeks prior to the big day carefully fine-tuning her predictions to determine with near-impossible precision exactly where and when Ekelhaft would appear. She knew her abilities would be utterly useless when the time actually did come, but she was still supervising the preparations, in part because she was a senior officer, and in part out of professional pride in her skill and contributions. And, of course, in part because she wanted to be on the front lines if she was wrong, so that it would be her life lost for her mistakes rather than an innocent who wasn't at fault.
Everything that was happening in front of her was... Mystifying. To her, at least. It was worlds apart from her knowledge and experience, and the exchanges going on between her underlings might as well have been in a foreign language for all that she understood.
"Exotic particle web in place, performing at capacity."
"Good. It's overlaying with the harmonic nullifier this time; I think you were right about the Hazaki interactions."
"I'm reading a potential instability at the northwest generator though. It's cycling between peak performance and near inactivity."
"Oh, apologies, that'll be me I suspect." An older man whose apparently-standard black uniform had been augmented with the addition of a matching top hat and facial hair that almost certainly violated military or police regulations in any universe he might visit strode over to the generator in question and tapped it a few times with his cane. "Superconductors are the bloody devil to work with. How's it looking now?"
There was a short pause. "Looks stable now. I'll let you know if it wavers again."
It kept going like that, troubleshooting and improvising solutions and erecting large, confusing machines. Major Jungfrau glanced at a timepiece and sighed; she dearly hoped they'd be finished in time – and from what she could tell this all looked like final touches – but bit back her tongue from encouraging them to speed up or reminding them of the schedule. They knew as well as she did how much time they had, and an interruption by someone with no technical expertise would probably just delay things further.
Instead, she nervously strode over to the large armored truck that would be transporting the whole setup to a more secure location after Ekelhaft was captured. The telltale sounds of ratcheting, banging, and swearing coming from under the hood made it fairly clear her driver wasn't ready to go either. At least, not to her own satisfaction. Jungfrau knocked on a tire and the mechanic rolled herself out from under the engine, looking irate.
"Look, grandma, I don't need to be reminded of the time every twenty seconds, and you don't need a status report that often either."
Jungfrau coughed. "I really don't think you should talk to me that way."
"Sorry, Major Grandma. Now can you get out of my hair or is this piece of crap gonna keel over on the way to the drop point and spill ancient evil all over the city?"
"Look, I understand that you're–"
"Then fire me or suspend me or whatever if you're gonna stand on protocol! If not, then I've got a solenoid that could really use some attention."
Without waiting for the disciplinary action that would never come, she kicked the concrete and rolled back under the vehicle.
It was hard to watch seconds tick away, taking minutes with them, knowing that you weren't quite ready for what was to come but not having any way to help prepare. Major Jungfrau dealt with it by running a few more minor auguries to confirm what she already knew and trying to stay out from under her subordinates' feet.
Finally, with only a handful of minutes remaining before the predicted arrival, one of the scientists broke off from the rest and got the major's attention.
"Yes, sergeant?"
"Everything's in place and working. If the information we got was accurate, this'll catch him or nothing will."
For the first time in days, Jungfrau smiled.
"Excellent, thank you. Thank you all."
Apparently feeling she had to say something before the big event went down, she stepped closer to the others and cleared her throat.
"I know you're all aware of everything that's at stake here, and the enormity of the task you were presented with. But I couldn't have asked for a more competent and inspiring group to work with, to work for, and I have nothing but confidence in your abilities. In moments, we'll finally see the fruition of our months of work, and I only wish I could ever reward you all with the recognition you'll deserve. On behalf of every person, human or otherwise, in this city, I thank you."
The man doing his best to look like Snidely Whipslash smiled. "Best not to count our chickens, eh major?"
The squid behind him rolled its eyes and waved a tentacle. "No real chance of failure. Instruments confirm functionality, portents ensure success."
An enormous sea-snake in a bubble of water made a restrained but dismissive gesture at the mention of portents, but nevertheless nodded. "I may not share Naamxe's level confidence, but I don't see too much going wrong."
The woman who had first approached Jungfrau wandered over to the truck; its mechanic was leaning against the door, chewing on something and doing her best to look bored.
"Everything okay, Pat?"
She shrugged. "Good enough. Be better if we'd gotten something that wasn't a pile of scrap on wheels. Or if I'd been able to take a look at it before the day of."
"But?"
Another shrug. "But it'll do."
An alarm went off on everyone's person simultaneously. After a bit of group fumbling to shut it off, Jungfrau nodded.
"Alright, everyone, stations."
The serpent, the mechanic, and the major all withdrew to the truck, while the other three approached various consoles spread around what looked to Jungfrau like an inverted summoning circle made of machinery and cables.
"I thought you'd need to be at the helm yourself, Sergeant Nyoka."
She shook her head, watching the others closely. "No, I mostly just facilitated automation. I'm a cyberneticist, not a phycisist, you know that."
"Mmm. Sorry, it's all a bit muddled to me. I wish for your sakes there'd been a supervisor that was more familiar with the sciences that could have taken my place."
Pat smirked, but said nothing. After several tense seconds, a second alarm went off, and a moment after that the air in the center of all the machinery rippled. And exploded.
Naamxe yelled something that the three by the truck couldn't hear as a gash in space opened and a torrent of corpse-green slime gushed across the boundary between worlds. The scientists met it with a flurry of activity and shouted orders; several spindly metal towers began glowing briefly before belching out a translucent hemisphere of energy, followed by another dome materializing from a group of squatter devices. Electricity arced across machines and barriers, with the roaring of engines and generators and tortured matter nearly drowning out the operators' yelling. Ekelhaft railed briefly against the constantly-redoubling containment before the human woman mashed a button and, with a flash, time stopped within the domes.
Noise died gradually, leaving the multileveled barriers opacifying and the scientists sharing nervously-hopeful looks. They turned to Nyoka and nodded, and she rejoined them and tapped at a hitherto-unused display with her manipulators; several plates of steel sprang up from the ground, folding themselves into a tetrahedron and welding their edges together. The last whirs of machinery faded, save for the self-contained generators that would keep Ekelhaft's containment in place and functional while it was transported.
It had taken all of twenty seconds, and as the climax of long projects so often does, it felt anticlimactic and unsatisfying. It had, in all honesty, gone better than most of those present expected, but their work wasn't quite done yet.
Still, all that was left was a leisurely drive across the city.
"Alright," Jungfrau said, allowing herself a cautious beam. "Load it up."
---
From Ekelhaft's perspective, it must have been like being released from one cell to another, the cruel warden of Time giving it just a shred of hope before locking it away beyond eternity again. Self couldn't bring itself to care.
From its vantage point on the balcony of a nearby building, it watched its uncaring progenitor appear and be instantly locked away. Perhaps, then, the people below – who seemed to have been forewarned of Ekelhaft's arrival given their efficiency – would assume that the slime god was dealt with and harmless.
This suited Self just fine. It slithered off to find lives to end, targets to test the bulk it had gained in Jedesburg against.
It had been... Glorious. How could mere words describe the elation? From the beginning of the Savage Brawl, Ekelhaft had enjoyed itself immensely, viscerally, even carnally. The destruction and chaos it had sown was satisfying on a level it hadn't been able to achieve in countless ages. But even all that had paled into forgetability the instant Jedesburg had materialized. So many lives to cut short, so much blood and bone to drink in, so much flesh and eventually mana to bolster a body that had been ravaged by old time and new war. So many buildings to crush, so much scenery to tear through.
Truly, truly glorious.
Ekelhaft had amused itself unto near mindlessness for... How long had it been? It didn't matter. It had long since – ha! – moved past the need for measuring time. Now, all that mattered was the moment. Even its hatred of and homicidal plans towards the cyborg were deferred. Its death would come, and Ekelhaft would be the one to deal it, certainly, but not now. Now, it was time to kill, which it did enthusiastically, methodically, and without remorse. Every soul it tore from a body strengthened the long-emaciated ooze, and every pound of corpse it consumed doubled that.
As it had torn through the town, unknowingly coming closer to Hoss's location, it had gotten harder and harder to find targets. Partially because it had killed to many so quickly that it was running out, and doubtless partially because the other gnats it was battling were taking their own toll. But mostly, it seemed that the appearance of great saucers in the sky and the subsequent meaty counterattack were taking their toll on the population and sending survivors fleeing. They didn't concern Ekelhaft unduly; they were up there and it was down here. What could it do? It let them skirmish above, quietly relishing the devastation they were causing like a craftsman impressed by a talented pupil, and concentrated on extirpating the taint of life from the surface.
But, as time went on, kills became even scarcer than they already had. It was to be expected, of course, but it was still disappointing. Eventually, it was spending more time devouring the corpses left by other marauders than creating fresh ones for itself. Still, it wasn't going to complain about a ready source of raw material; by now, the bathtubful of noisome green had transformed into something that could reasonably displace a suburban swimming pool's contents. Even as it rankled at the act of creation, it relished its increased destructive potential, and continued its search for targets and meals.
And then, it found them. They had changed, both, but a thousand eyes still saw them for what they were. They didn't even seem to recognize each other, but it certainly did. Ziirphael was forgettable, an easy target for a later date, but the fact that Hoss had presented himself and was so seemingly vulnerable thrilled the ancient psychopath. Not stopping to examine now that his quarry was so obligingly asking for death, Ekelhaft surged forward, salivating acid, and watched as
time
stretched
o__u________t
An endless moment surrounded the blob of malevolent intent; it couldn't move, which was absurd because of course it could it was moving right now. The awareness of its state, trapped in a distortion field, clashed with its perception of the moment as just a moment. It tried to blink with eyelids it didn't have, only to see the world buzz past at speeds that rendered events meaningless. Its vision crowded with the appearance of dark shapes and bright blasts, then the field vanished and Ekelhaft was left facing down artillery that would reduce it to atomic ash. And then it disappeared.
---
It had been... Unbearable. How could mere words describe the frustration? From the beginning of Self's conscious existence, it had experienced one setback and annoyance after another. The lich had proved an adequate source of entertainment and a better one of spare mana – at least before Hoss's unintentionally created burst – right up until it had become impossible to follow him. Or Ziirphael. And Self was left alone and small, too unthreatening to menace a hound and too slow to find another target.
At least, it had thought so. Eventually, its wanderings had lead it to a much more satisfying situation, but predictably those had been wrenched away from it again before it had a chance to really savor it. Self seemed to be in control of absolutely nothing, and was threatening to collapse back into the ennui-riddled stupor that had consumed it back when it had been Ekelhaft on an empty, dead planet. It idly hoped, in the brief moments between disappearance and transfer, that the next round would show it if not kindness then at least opportunity.
---
The broadcast hadn't blared across Battletopia yet, but frankly it was more a reminder to civilians than a call to arms. Kracht's information had already predicted that it would be today that the contestants in the Savage Brawl would arrive, and every member of the city's ubiquitous police force slash militia was on duty and high alert. For most of the incoming targets, it was enough that their approximate location was known in advance with reasonable accuracy; even Hoss himself, the entire focus of the regime's efforts, was considered safe enough to work with some uncertainty. But one was so destructive and powerful – and, most saliently, so likely to potentially result in the death of a contestant other than Hoss – that there was simply no room for error, especially given the complex arrangements that would have to be made for its capture.
Of course, that contestant was Ekelhaft. Even in a universe the madgod had never before been – in its own timeline, at least – it had already made organized enemies.
To that end, Kracht had personally sent his chief diviner, Major Jungfrau, to coordinate the arrival of the most sensitive target. She'd spent the weeks prior to the big day carefully fine-tuning her predictions to determine with near-impossible precision exactly where and when Ekelhaft would appear. She knew her abilities would be utterly useless when the time actually did come, but she was still supervising the preparations, in part because she was a senior officer, and in part out of professional pride in her skill and contributions. And, of course, in part because she wanted to be on the front lines if she was wrong, so that it would be her life lost for her mistakes rather than an innocent who wasn't at fault.
Everything that was happening in front of her was... Mystifying. To her, at least. It was worlds apart from her knowledge and experience, and the exchanges going on between her underlings might as well have been in a foreign language for all that she understood.
"Exotic particle web in place, performing at capacity."
"Good. It's overlaying with the harmonic nullifier this time; I think you were right about the Hazaki interactions."
"I'm reading a potential instability at the northwest generator though. It's cycling between peak performance and near inactivity."
"Oh, apologies, that'll be me I suspect." An older man whose apparently-standard black uniform had been augmented with the addition of a matching top hat and facial hair that almost certainly violated military or police regulations in any universe he might visit strode over to the generator in question and tapped it a few times with his cane. "Superconductors are the bloody devil to work with. How's it looking now?"
There was a short pause. "Looks stable now. I'll let you know if it wavers again."
It kept going like that, troubleshooting and improvising solutions and erecting large, confusing machines. Major Jungfrau glanced at a timepiece and sighed; she dearly hoped they'd be finished in time – and from what she could tell this all looked like final touches – but bit back her tongue from encouraging them to speed up or reminding them of the schedule. They knew as well as she did how much time they had, and an interruption by someone with no technical expertise would probably just delay things further.
Instead, she nervously strode over to the large armored truck that would be transporting the whole setup to a more secure location after Ekelhaft was captured. The telltale sounds of ratcheting, banging, and swearing coming from under the hood made it fairly clear her driver wasn't ready to go either. At least, not to her own satisfaction. Jungfrau knocked on a tire and the mechanic rolled herself out from under the engine, looking irate.
"Look, grandma, I don't need to be reminded of the time every twenty seconds, and you don't need a status report that often either."
Jungfrau coughed. "I really don't think you should talk to me that way."
"Sorry, Major Grandma. Now can you get out of my hair or is this piece of crap gonna keel over on the way to the drop point and spill ancient evil all over the city?"
"Look, I understand that you're–"
"Then fire me or suspend me or whatever if you're gonna stand on protocol! If not, then I've got a solenoid that could really use some attention."
Without waiting for the disciplinary action that would never come, she kicked the concrete and rolled back under the vehicle.
It was hard to watch seconds tick away, taking minutes with them, knowing that you weren't quite ready for what was to come but not having any way to help prepare. Major Jungfrau dealt with it by running a few more minor auguries to confirm what she already knew and trying to stay out from under her subordinates' feet.
Finally, with only a handful of minutes remaining before the predicted arrival, one of the scientists broke off from the rest and got the major's attention.
"Yes, sergeant?"
"Everything's in place and working. If the information we got was accurate, this'll catch him or nothing will."
For the first time in days, Jungfrau smiled.
"Excellent, thank you. Thank you all."
Apparently feeling she had to say something before the big event went down, she stepped closer to the others and cleared her throat.
"I know you're all aware of everything that's at stake here, and the enormity of the task you were presented with. But I couldn't have asked for a more competent and inspiring group to work with, to work for, and I have nothing but confidence in your abilities. In moments, we'll finally see the fruition of our months of work, and I only wish I could ever reward you all with the recognition you'll deserve. On behalf of every person, human or otherwise, in this city, I thank you."
The man doing his best to look like Snidely Whipslash smiled. "Best not to count our chickens, eh major?"
The squid behind him rolled its eyes and waved a tentacle. "No real chance of failure. Instruments confirm functionality, portents ensure success."
An enormous sea-snake in a bubble of water made a restrained but dismissive gesture at the mention of portents, but nevertheless nodded. "I may not share Naamxe's level confidence, but I don't see too much going wrong."
The woman who had first approached Jungfrau wandered over to the truck; its mechanic was leaning against the door, chewing on something and doing her best to look bored.
"Everything okay, Pat?"
She shrugged. "Good enough. Be better if we'd gotten something that wasn't a pile of scrap on wheels. Or if I'd been able to take a look at it before the day of."
"But?"
Another shrug. "But it'll do."
An alarm went off on everyone's person simultaneously. After a bit of group fumbling to shut it off, Jungfrau nodded.
"Alright, everyone, stations."
The serpent, the mechanic, and the major all withdrew to the truck, while the other three approached various consoles spread around what looked to Jungfrau like an inverted summoning circle made of machinery and cables.
"I thought you'd need to be at the helm yourself, Sergeant Nyoka."
She shook her head, watching the others closely. "No, I mostly just facilitated automation. I'm a cyberneticist, not a phycisist, you know that."
"Mmm. Sorry, it's all a bit muddled to me. I wish for your sakes there'd been a supervisor that was more familiar with the sciences that could have taken my place."
Pat smirked, but said nothing. After several tense seconds, a second alarm went off, and a moment after that the air in the center of all the machinery rippled. And exploded.
Naamxe yelled something that the three by the truck couldn't hear as a gash in space opened and a torrent of corpse-green slime gushed across the boundary between worlds. The scientists met it with a flurry of activity and shouted orders; several spindly metal towers began glowing briefly before belching out a translucent hemisphere of energy, followed by another dome materializing from a group of squatter devices. Electricity arced across machines and barriers, with the roaring of engines and generators and tortured matter nearly drowning out the operators' yelling. Ekelhaft railed briefly against the constantly-redoubling containment before the human woman mashed a button and, with a flash, time stopped within the domes.
Noise died gradually, leaving the multileveled barriers opacifying and the scientists sharing nervously-hopeful looks. They turned to Nyoka and nodded, and she rejoined them and tapped at a hitherto-unused display with her manipulators; several plates of steel sprang up from the ground, folding themselves into a tetrahedron and welding their edges together. The last whirs of machinery faded, save for the self-contained generators that would keep Ekelhaft's containment in place and functional while it was transported.
It had taken all of twenty seconds, and as the climax of long projects so often does, it felt anticlimactic and unsatisfying. It had, in all honesty, gone better than most of those present expected, but their work wasn't quite done yet.
Still, all that was left was a leisurely drive across the city.
"Alright," Jungfrau said, allowing herself a cautious beam. "Load it up."
---
From Ekelhaft's perspective, it must have been like being released from one cell to another, the cruel warden of Time giving it just a shred of hope before locking it away beyond eternity again. Self couldn't bring itself to care.
From its vantage point on the balcony of a nearby building, it watched its uncaring progenitor appear and be instantly locked away. Perhaps, then, the people below – who seemed to have been forewarned of Ekelhaft's arrival given their efficiency – would assume that the slime god was dealt with and harmless.
This suited Self just fine. It slithered off to find lives to end, targets to test the bulk it had gained in Jedesburg against.