12-12-2012, 02:38 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.
"You have got to be freakin' kidding me," the short cultist grumbled. "You want us to capture him? He can fly!"
"It is hardly a difficult task, Brother Pila," his associate replied. She held up her arm and a series of thick green vines flew from it towards Sirius. But he swiftly changed course, and the vines missed his leg by mere inches.
"That's what you get for showing off, Sister Catena," Pila growled. He took a deep breath and his body took on a rounder shape. "Tryandcatchupifyoucan!" he declared rapidly, before bouncing off the clinic's front wall.
"A minor setback," Catena declared, more to herself than the junior cultist. As her vines fell, she turned her arm and they caught themselves around a conveniently-placed pole halfway across the street. Without a word, she retracted her vine-arm, pulling herself to the pole.
Lanston sneered as the other cultists ran off in pursuit.
"Bah. Amateurs, they'll never catch him moving like that." He glanced at a nearby communication terminal; perfect. "Still, I suppose they'll make a nice distraction."
Lanston opened a maintenance panel on the terminal and leapt in. He wasn't sure of the Winged Arbiter's destination, but the overall direction was clear enough, and he could move through the gears and pistons that connected two terminals faster than this fool could fly. Provided that the others kept their quarry moving in the right direction, he could claim the element of surprise.
Sirius, for his part, was less concerned by his pursuers than by his backseat driver.
Why, Siri! Did you make some new friends while I was out? You really should introduce me sometime!
"This is about the worst possible time for you to come back," Sirius snapped back. It wasn't entirely true; as far as the angel was concerned, there was never a good time for the Eccentric to return.
Oh, Siri, you're just saying that. Now, turn left here.
Sirius was about to reply again when he felt a sharp pain on his right shoulder at the wing joint. Sister Catena had come closer to the mark this time.
You see? If you'd turned left that wouldn't have hit you! Honestly, it's as if you can't view the entire area from an omniscient perspective. OH WAIT I GUESS YOU CAN'T!
"Then why don't you show me yours instead of yelling directions at me?" Sirius retorted. He lowered himself slightly and flapped slower on his right side; the wound wasn't pleasant.
Because it would break your puny ethereal mind! Oh, wait, that sounds like fun LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT!
Sirius screamed as the Eccentric altered his vision, showing him not just the layout of the region from three different angles, but also the exact composition of every atom of air, dirt, machinery, and even himself, all in one horrifying image.
"Wow, I guess that wing was a more sensitive area than I thought," Catena mused, swinging across loose poles and girders. The winged man was flying more slowly, but still a bit faster than her swinging could manage.
Fortunately, her partner could bounce faster than she could move.
"NiceworkCatenanowIllfinishthejob," Pila squealed, racing towards a rotating antenna. As he struck one of its panels, it spun faster, raising his momentum with it. After one full spin he launched himself at Sirius and struck him right in the stomach, then latched on.
Oops! It seems we have a hitchhiker. Here, I'll let you see less clearly so you can deal with him.
Sirius sighed with relief as the all-seeing image left his eyes. But the close view of Brother Pila's face soon removed that sentiment.
"Ignition!"
It was Pila's turn to scream as the flames surrounded Sirius' body. He let go and bounced off the ground wildly, looking for a chance to douse himself.
"Hmmph, how pathetic," Catena muttered, watching as Pila bounced into an open coolant tank. Fortunately, the junior cultist's strike had slowed down Sirius for a few moments, long enough for her to catch up. She readied her vines again, and this time managed to wind them around his arm. The flames made her wince, but she could handle the pain better than Pila.
Besides, she didn't need to actually touch him. She broke off the section of pipe she was hanging from and retracted her vine-arm towards Sirius. The pipe would make a nice club, and one good blow to the head would be enough.
Unfortunately, she neglected to take into consideration that she was now at the mercy of Sirius' flight pattern.
DO A BARREL ROLL!
Much as he disliked the order, Sirius had to admit it was the right time. He spun around, and Catena's vines spun with him, burning as they touched his flaming body. Between the flames and the vertigo it was inducing on her body, she soon lost her grip on the pipe. It fell to the ground, striking Pila on the head just as he was about to start bouncing again.
But Sirius wasn't free yet; Catena's vines were still wrapped around him, and she didn't seem to have any intention of letting go. Or perhaps she simply wasn't in any shape to. Regardless, he needed to land in order to shake the vines off properly; it would also offer a chance to heal his wounded wing.
He flew to a nearby rooftop, next to a strange box. He grabbed the vines with his free hand, and pulled them apart; Catena screamed at the separation, but was too disoriented to free herself with her other arm. She simply fell to the ground a few feet away from Pila.
Good work, but you missed one. Pay a little more attention!
Before Sirius could shake the thought that this might simply be the Eccentric toying with him, the box popped open and Lanston leapt out at him.
"Well, that was easier than I thought," he laughed, pinning Sirius. "Now, if you'll just come with us, we have someone who'd very much like to see you... Urk!"
Lanston had underestimated Sirius' strength. The angel soon picked himself up, and dangled Lanston over the edge of the roof.
"Whoever they are, I'm not interested," he declared. "I've already got one difficult employer to deal with and I'm not looking for any other offers. Goodbye."
Sirius let go, but Lanston didn't give up. He grabbed the angel's legs and tried to pull him down as well.
"I have wings, you know."
"Good point," Lanston conceded. He grabbed the wings instead and held them tightly as they plummeted to the alley below.
As Pila and Catena regained their senses, they heard a loud crash. They rushed towards the noise, and found only a frustrated figure in a cloak glaring up at the sky.
"Nearly had him," he grumbled. "Thought I'd broke his wings, but they're stronger than they look."
"So you lead us both on a merry chase only to come up empty-handed?" Pila growled.
"We could still catch up to him..."
"Forget it," Catena sneered. "If you want to chase him down, do it on your own time, Brother Lanston."
"Yeah, and find the Chapel on your own time while you're at it!" Pila added.
"...Point taken. Very well, lead the way."
"Smart man, Brother Lanston," Catena said with a grin, as she rubbed the wounds on her left vine-arm. "By the way, you owe me for this."
"And for the bump on my head, too!"
Even as the cultists guided their guest towards the Chapel, they continued to berate him. He quietly seethed the whole time.
You only have to put up with them until the Chapel, he told himself. Only until the Chapel.
"You have got to be freakin' kidding me," the short cultist grumbled. "You want us to capture him? He can fly!"
"It is hardly a difficult task, Brother Pila," his associate replied. She held up her arm and a series of thick green vines flew from it towards Sirius. But he swiftly changed course, and the vines missed his leg by mere inches.
"That's what you get for showing off, Sister Catena," Pila growled. He took a deep breath and his body took on a rounder shape. "Tryandcatchupifyoucan!" he declared rapidly, before bouncing off the clinic's front wall.
"A minor setback," Catena declared, more to herself than the junior cultist. As her vines fell, she turned her arm and they caught themselves around a conveniently-placed pole halfway across the street. Without a word, she retracted her vine-arm, pulling herself to the pole.
Lanston sneered as the other cultists ran off in pursuit.
"Bah. Amateurs, they'll never catch him moving like that." He glanced at a nearby communication terminal; perfect. "Still, I suppose they'll make a nice distraction."
Lanston opened a maintenance panel on the terminal and leapt in. He wasn't sure of the Winged Arbiter's destination, but the overall direction was clear enough, and he could move through the gears and pistons that connected two terminals faster than this fool could fly. Provided that the others kept their quarry moving in the right direction, he could claim the element of surprise.
Sirius, for his part, was less concerned by his pursuers than by his backseat driver.
Why, Siri! Did you make some new friends while I was out? You really should introduce me sometime!
"This is about the worst possible time for you to come back," Sirius snapped back. It wasn't entirely true; as far as the angel was concerned, there was never a good time for the Eccentric to return.
Oh, Siri, you're just saying that. Now, turn left here.
Sirius was about to reply again when he felt a sharp pain on his right shoulder at the wing joint. Sister Catena had come closer to the mark this time.
You see? If you'd turned left that wouldn't have hit you! Honestly, it's as if you can't view the entire area from an omniscient perspective. OH WAIT I GUESS YOU CAN'T!
"Then why don't you show me yours instead of yelling directions at me?" Sirius retorted. He lowered himself slightly and flapped slower on his right side; the wound wasn't pleasant.
Because it would break your puny ethereal mind! Oh, wait, that sounds like fun LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT!
Sirius screamed as the Eccentric altered his vision, showing him not just the layout of the region from three different angles, but also the exact composition of every atom of air, dirt, machinery, and even himself, all in one horrifying image.
"Wow, I guess that wing was a more sensitive area than I thought," Catena mused, swinging across loose poles and girders. The winged man was flying more slowly, but still a bit faster than her swinging could manage.
Fortunately, her partner could bounce faster than she could move.
"NiceworkCatenanowIllfinishthejob," Pila squealed, racing towards a rotating antenna. As he struck one of its panels, it spun faster, raising his momentum with it. After one full spin he launched himself at Sirius and struck him right in the stomach, then latched on.
Oops! It seems we have a hitchhiker. Here, I'll let you see less clearly so you can deal with him.
Sirius sighed with relief as the all-seeing image left his eyes. But the close view of Brother Pila's face soon removed that sentiment.
"Ignition!"
It was Pila's turn to scream as the flames surrounded Sirius' body. He let go and bounced off the ground wildly, looking for a chance to douse himself.
"Hmmph, how pathetic," Catena muttered, watching as Pila bounced into an open coolant tank. Fortunately, the junior cultist's strike had slowed down Sirius for a few moments, long enough for her to catch up. She readied her vines again, and this time managed to wind them around his arm. The flames made her wince, but she could handle the pain better than Pila.
Besides, she didn't need to actually touch him. She broke off the section of pipe she was hanging from and retracted her vine-arm towards Sirius. The pipe would make a nice club, and one good blow to the head would be enough.
Unfortunately, she neglected to take into consideration that she was now at the mercy of Sirius' flight pattern.
DO A BARREL ROLL!
Much as he disliked the order, Sirius had to admit it was the right time. He spun around, and Catena's vines spun with him, burning as they touched his flaming body. Between the flames and the vertigo it was inducing on her body, she soon lost her grip on the pipe. It fell to the ground, striking Pila on the head just as he was about to start bouncing again.
But Sirius wasn't free yet; Catena's vines were still wrapped around him, and she didn't seem to have any intention of letting go. Or perhaps she simply wasn't in any shape to. Regardless, he needed to land in order to shake the vines off properly; it would also offer a chance to heal his wounded wing.
He flew to a nearby rooftop, next to a strange box. He grabbed the vines with his free hand, and pulled them apart; Catena screamed at the separation, but was too disoriented to free herself with her other arm. She simply fell to the ground a few feet away from Pila.
Good work, but you missed one. Pay a little more attention!
Before Sirius could shake the thought that this might simply be the Eccentric toying with him, the box popped open and Lanston leapt out at him.
"Well, that was easier than I thought," he laughed, pinning Sirius. "Now, if you'll just come with us, we have someone who'd very much like to see you... Urk!"
Lanston had underestimated Sirius' strength. The angel soon picked himself up, and dangled Lanston over the edge of the roof.
"Whoever they are, I'm not interested," he declared. "I've already got one difficult employer to deal with and I'm not looking for any other offers. Goodbye."
Sirius let go, but Lanston didn't give up. He grabbed the angel's legs and tried to pull him down as well.
"I have wings, you know."
"Good point," Lanston conceded. He grabbed the wings instead and held them tightly as they plummeted to the alley below.
As Pila and Catena regained their senses, they heard a loud crash. They rushed towards the noise, and found only a frustrated figure in a cloak glaring up at the sky.
"Nearly had him," he grumbled. "Thought I'd broke his wings, but they're stronger than they look."
"So you lead us both on a merry chase only to come up empty-handed?" Pila growled.
"We could still catch up to him..."
"Forget it," Catena sneered. "If you want to chase him down, do it on your own time, Brother Lanston."
"Yeah, and find the Chapel on your own time while you're at it!" Pila added.
"...Point taken. Very well, lead the way."
"Smart man, Brother Lanston," Catena said with a grin, as she rubbed the wounds on her left vine-arm. "By the way, you owe me for this."
"And for the bump on my head, too!"
Even as the cultists guided their guest towards the Chapel, they continued to berate him. He quietly seethed the whole time.
You only have to put up with them until the Chapel, he told himself. Only until the Chapel.
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse