Re: DEATHGAME 9000 [S!3] Round One: Gamexus X99
07-16-2012, 11:16 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Snowyowl.
Eris closed her eyes, and floated almost gracefully to the ground. Her new bodyguard watched. "I see." Although his programming had changed, it was fundamentaly still programming; he didn't have to make difficult decisions, just react to his surroundings. Eris was incapacitated, her friends were not powerful enough to defend themselves alone, and the next guard was already aggro'd. It might have occurred to him to move Eris, but his inventory system didn't work that way, nor could he order her to move since she outranked him. Clearly, his only real option was to attack the other guards before they could injure Eris any more.
He did so.
"Incapacitated already. I'm surprised. I thought she would be able to put up a fight for longer, and I didn't see what knocked her out."
Vigil was already crouched by Eris' side (well within the guards' attack radius, not that he particularly cared) "She's still breathing. Probably magical backlash. Using too much magic affects different people in different ways, and I'm not sure whether she follows the same rules of magic as me and Lynette - or anyone else here, come to think of it - but fainting is a pretty common symptom."
"The nurse mentioned magic earlier. I'd like to know more about it, if - " A lightning bolt fizzled over their heads as one fighter's impossibly high Accuracy came up against his opponent's even more impossible Evasion, and resulted in a miss. " - well, we can discuss it later."
"Should we help him?"
"I was told the guards were undefeatable. That doesn't seem to be strictly true, but I suspect we would still be outmatched." A blow landed with a sound like a bowling ball hitting a concrete wall. "What were you planning to do next?"
"We... Eris wanted to help me, I think. She might just have been looking for a fight." Weaver tutted. "And I need to find Lynette. I don't know what could happen to her in this place, but she..." An image popped into Vigil's memory, of a young woman on the run from her family with a legion of voices in her head, not all of which were strictly imaginary. He pushed it back. "She needs my help."
"I see. As it happens, I was looking to make contact with the other contestants as well." The second guard - the one still following his original programming - took one final hit and vanished to a respawn point somewhere. "So your goals align nicely with mine." And I could find out why she needs the rabbit's help, he thought. Know thine enemy. "Now, she isn't in the hospital room, so I see no reason not to leave immediately."
"Fair enough. If we're going to ask around, the barman said something about hearing rumours. We should start with him." Weaver nodded, and started to walk back the way they'd come. Vigil smiled a little; it was nice to have a goal in mind. "Would you mind carrying Eris? She's a bit too heavy for me."
Weaver stopped. "I think there's been some confusion here. We're not bringing Eris along."
"...WHAT?"
The unseen sweeper watched with interest. Two guards could overpower the rogue easily, but they would attack one at a time until there were six targets in the guard's attack area. Currently, there were four. He could either perform some reprogramming, or bring two new targets into the area. Then, with the rogue out of the way, they would easily have enough firepower to destroy the Eris and the Vigil.
That thought made him pause. He only had the Vigil's own word that killing it would not cause it to respawn, and he knew the Weaver had already respawned once. It seemed likely that this would work, true, but it wasn't certain. High Command liked their certainties. He would need a backup plan.
"Eris is a liability. She doesn't just draw attention to herself, she actively goes looking for a fight that can challenge her. And she clearly doesn't know the limits of her abilities. She'll be lucky if she only gets herself killed."
"That's not a reason to abandon her, it's a reason to help her! She's a powerful fighter, she took down the guy you said was absolutely undefeatable. And that vortex creature earlier that was also supposedly undefeatable. She's a great ally, and I can help her concentrate-"
"You're doing a poor job of it. She's put you in danger that she didn't know she could get you out of. And if you're looking to gather information, you'll need a capacity for stealth and discretion, which she doesn't have. In my world, I've been on the run for years. Any undue attention could result in my arrest and destruction. I know how to acquire information of all kinds, I understand the value of not drawing attention from people vastly more powerful than myself - such as the Amazing - and I can tell you now that Eris will-"
"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Weaver's gaze was wrenched back to Vigil. "She doesn't know her own strength, but her heart's in the right place. She's been nothing but helpful - if a little childish - since we met. Which is more than I can say for you."
"Have you forgotten that we are supposedly in a battle to the death? Did you even consider the possibility that she is deliberately trying to kill you? Her cute-little-girl act should not be enough for you to stop questioning her motives."
"I'm questioning your motives now, Glowstick. None of the rest of us want to kill each other, and we're not running any Machiavellian plans behind the scenes. You just want to think that everyone is like you, am I right?"
"Strictly speaking-"
"Because if I am right, you're planning ways of getting me out of the picture even while I'm just trying to help my friend."
Weaver fumed. "Believe me, if I'd wanted to kill you I've had the opportunity and the ability to do so. It would be easy enough to wring your neck. I'm four times your size, and far more skilled at unarmed combat. That is, if your little display glued to Eris's back was indicative of your ability."
"You smug, self-satisfied, sociopathic... no, there's no point. But I've got my eye on you, Weaver 16. And we are bringing Eris with us."
"Then she's your charge. I won't be slowed down by a loose cannon such as her."
"Fine." Vigil started to drag Eris away from the fighting guards, currently circling each other.
Interesting... the one calling himself Weaver believed he was capable of eliminating the Vigil. Not only were these viral intruders not working together, but they could be coerced into attacking one another. And if they all shared the ability to delete other entities by destroying their avatars, this paved the way towards a new plan. One that depended much less, and yet much more, on the unknown properties of these intruders.
"Mr Snake?"
A nearby cardboard box stood up. "Shoulda known you'd see through my perfect disguise."
"The girl that rabbit is looking for is located in the city of Gomorrah. Do you know where that is?"
"A man like me has to go everywhere and do everything, but I can't say - "
"I'm sorry, I misspoke. You do know where that is. Would you kindly approach him, hidden from the guards, and offer to take him there?"
"Yessir." Hard Snake ducked under the box again. The box shuffled towards the three contestants.
Vigil, still angry at Weaver, pricked up his ears when he felt someone's gaze on him. The sensation appeared to be coming from the flap in the front of an approaching cardboard box, where two eyes were barely visible. "... Hard Snake?"
"Yeah, s'me. I've picked up some intel on your girlfriend's location, you interested?"
"Well... yes, great, but we're a little busy now. Can you help me get Eris away from these guards?"
"And that's six", said a man in a suit as he stepped into the guards' attack radius. "Thank you, Snake. Nonlethal damage on the blue one, I think."
"Six what?" asked Vigil. Eris's pet guard, currently sizing up his green-skinned opponent, was grabbed from behind by another one of the guardians (this one looking decidedly robotic), and knocked to the ground, his body dissolving as it landed. Eris moaned, and sat up. "Ooh... Did anyone get the license plate of that meteorite?" she said with her eyes crossed.
One of the guards wandered back to his post; the other cracked his knuckles. Weaver, acting on the robotic equivalent of instinct, shot up and tried to run, but only managed one step before he was hit in the back with the guard's energy blast, and vanished.
Hard Snake shifted his cigarette to the other side of his mouth, and vocalised the thought that was currently going through everyone's mind. "Shit."
Weaver woke up instantly, as far as his internal clock could tell. He was in a chair, in front of a desk, with a woman dressed in gold behind it.
"Hello, Mr Sixteen, and sorry for diverting your respawn so rudely", said the woman. "I represent the interests of AV. I would like you to do a job for us."
Eris closed her eyes, and floated almost gracefully to the ground. Her new bodyguard watched. "I see." Although his programming had changed, it was fundamentaly still programming; he didn't have to make difficult decisions, just react to his surroundings. Eris was incapacitated, her friends were not powerful enough to defend themselves alone, and the next guard was already aggro'd. It might have occurred to him to move Eris, but his inventory system didn't work that way, nor could he order her to move since she outranked him. Clearly, his only real option was to attack the other guards before they could injure Eris any more.
He did so.
"Incapacitated already. I'm surprised. I thought she would be able to put up a fight for longer, and I didn't see what knocked her out."
Vigil was already crouched by Eris' side (well within the guards' attack radius, not that he particularly cared) "She's still breathing. Probably magical backlash. Using too much magic affects different people in different ways, and I'm not sure whether she follows the same rules of magic as me and Lynette - or anyone else here, come to think of it - but fainting is a pretty common symptom."
"The nurse mentioned magic earlier. I'd like to know more about it, if - " A lightning bolt fizzled over their heads as one fighter's impossibly high Accuracy came up against his opponent's even more impossible Evasion, and resulted in a miss. " - well, we can discuss it later."
"Should we help him?"
"I was told the guards were undefeatable. That doesn't seem to be strictly true, but I suspect we would still be outmatched." A blow landed with a sound like a bowling ball hitting a concrete wall. "What were you planning to do next?"
"We... Eris wanted to help me, I think. She might just have been looking for a fight." Weaver tutted. "And I need to find Lynette. I don't know what could happen to her in this place, but she..." An image popped into Vigil's memory, of a young woman on the run from her family with a legion of voices in her head, not all of which were strictly imaginary. He pushed it back. "She needs my help."
"I see. As it happens, I was looking to make contact with the other contestants as well." The second guard - the one still following his original programming - took one final hit and vanished to a respawn point somewhere. "So your goals align nicely with mine." And I could find out why she needs the rabbit's help, he thought. Know thine enemy. "Now, she isn't in the hospital room, so I see no reason not to leave immediately."
"Fair enough. If we're going to ask around, the barman said something about hearing rumours. We should start with him." Weaver nodded, and started to walk back the way they'd come. Vigil smiled a little; it was nice to have a goal in mind. "Would you mind carrying Eris? She's a bit too heavy for me."
Weaver stopped. "I think there's been some confusion here. We're not bringing Eris along."
"...WHAT?"
The unseen sweeper watched with interest. Two guards could overpower the rogue easily, but they would attack one at a time until there were six targets in the guard's attack area. Currently, there were four. He could either perform some reprogramming, or bring two new targets into the area. Then, with the rogue out of the way, they would easily have enough firepower to destroy the Eris and the Vigil.
That thought made him pause. He only had the Vigil's own word that killing it would not cause it to respawn, and he knew the Weaver had already respawned once. It seemed likely that this would work, true, but it wasn't certain. High Command liked their certainties. He would need a backup plan.
"Eris is a liability. She doesn't just draw attention to herself, she actively goes looking for a fight that can challenge her. And she clearly doesn't know the limits of her abilities. She'll be lucky if she only gets herself killed."
"That's not a reason to abandon her, it's a reason to help her! She's a powerful fighter, she took down the guy you said was absolutely undefeatable. And that vortex creature earlier that was also supposedly undefeatable. She's a great ally, and I can help her concentrate-"
"You're doing a poor job of it. She's put you in danger that she didn't know she could get you out of. And if you're looking to gather information, you'll need a capacity for stealth and discretion, which she doesn't have. In my world, I've been on the run for years. Any undue attention could result in my arrest and destruction. I know how to acquire information of all kinds, I understand the value of not drawing attention from people vastly more powerful than myself - such as the Amazing - and I can tell you now that Eris will-"
"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Weaver's gaze was wrenched back to Vigil. "She doesn't know her own strength, but her heart's in the right place. She's been nothing but helpful - if a little childish - since we met. Which is more than I can say for you."
"Have you forgotten that we are supposedly in a battle to the death? Did you even consider the possibility that she is deliberately trying to kill you? Her cute-little-girl act should not be enough for you to stop questioning her motives."
"I'm questioning your motives now, Glowstick. None of the rest of us want to kill each other, and we're not running any Machiavellian plans behind the scenes. You just want to think that everyone is like you, am I right?"
"Strictly speaking-"
"Because if I am right, you're planning ways of getting me out of the picture even while I'm just trying to help my friend."
Weaver fumed. "Believe me, if I'd wanted to kill you I've had the opportunity and the ability to do so. It would be easy enough to wring your neck. I'm four times your size, and far more skilled at unarmed combat. That is, if your little display glued to Eris's back was indicative of your ability."
"You smug, self-satisfied, sociopathic... no, there's no point. But I've got my eye on you, Weaver 16. And we are bringing Eris with us."
"Then she's your charge. I won't be slowed down by a loose cannon such as her."
"Fine." Vigil started to drag Eris away from the fighting guards, currently circling each other.
Interesting... the one calling himself Weaver believed he was capable of eliminating the Vigil. Not only were these viral intruders not working together, but they could be coerced into attacking one another. And if they all shared the ability to delete other entities by destroying their avatars, this paved the way towards a new plan. One that depended much less, and yet much more, on the unknown properties of these intruders.
"Mr Snake?"
A nearby cardboard box stood up. "Shoulda known you'd see through my perfect disguise."
"The girl that rabbit is looking for is located in the city of Gomorrah. Do you know where that is?"
"A man like me has to go everywhere and do everything, but I can't say - "
"I'm sorry, I misspoke. You do know where that is. Would you kindly approach him, hidden from the guards, and offer to take him there?"
"Yessir." Hard Snake ducked under the box again. The box shuffled towards the three contestants.
Vigil, still angry at Weaver, pricked up his ears when he felt someone's gaze on him. The sensation appeared to be coming from the flap in the front of an approaching cardboard box, where two eyes were barely visible. "... Hard Snake?"
"Yeah, s'me. I've picked up some intel on your girlfriend's location, you interested?"
"Well... yes, great, but we're a little busy now. Can you help me get Eris away from these guards?"
"And that's six", said a man in a suit as he stepped into the guards' attack radius. "Thank you, Snake. Nonlethal damage on the blue one, I think."
"Six what?" asked Vigil. Eris's pet guard, currently sizing up his green-skinned opponent, was grabbed from behind by another one of the guardians (this one looking decidedly robotic), and knocked to the ground, his body dissolving as it landed. Eris moaned, and sat up. "Ooh... Did anyone get the license plate of that meteorite?" she said with her eyes crossed.
One of the guards wandered back to his post; the other cracked his knuckles. Weaver, acting on the robotic equivalent of instinct, shot up and tried to run, but only managed one step before he was hit in the back with the guard's energy blast, and vanished.
Hard Snake shifted his cigarette to the other side of his mouth, and vocalised the thought that was currently going through everyone's mind. "Shit."
Weaver woke up instantly, as far as his internal clock could tell. He was in a chair, in front of a desk, with a woman dressed in gold behind it.
"Hello, Mr Sixteen, and sorry for diverting your respawn so rudely", said the woman. "I represent the interests of AV. I would like you to do a job for us."