Re: Battle Royale! Round 5: Monte Casino
02-11-2010, 02:18 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Mystify.
Itzal Threw another volley of cards and darted for the other side of the Casino, trying to find leftover daggers. Zeke darted after it, intent on hunting it down once and for all.
"You have annoyed me long enough, Illusionist. I won't let you escape this time."
Itzal spotted a stray dagger and leapt over a slot machine after it, landing on the ground and sliding under the table,
Zeke also leapt over the machine, and sprung past the table to strike at Itzal.
Itzal teleported the dagger into its hand just in time to block the blow, and it rolled to the side to avoid Zeke's second strike. "You enjoy those gauntlets far too much." Itzal said, teleporting them inside of a nearby slot machine.
"You think I need them to take care of you?" Zeke taunted, breaking off a table leg and rushing at Itzal.
Itzal darted backwards, dodging Zeke's swings. Itzal silently thanked Whit for the extra life; without it he would have no chance against Zeke in a full-out confrontation like this. As it was, the extra speed was serving it quite well. "If you think I can be killed with a puny piece of wood, think again." Itzal darted in to strike with its dagger, but Zeke turned away the strike easily.
Zeke spotted a sword on the body of a fallen gambler, and rolled to the side, coming up with the sword ready. "This should do the job quite nicely." Zeke said, slashing it forward at Itzal.
The blade caught Itzal in the stomach and tore through the flesh, but Itzal healed it almost as soon as the damage was dealt. "You understand nothing. I have spent centuries studying the untold complexities of the universe, learning to bend it to my will. I have achieved a greater mastery of my body than all your years of martial study, despite how much you wish to claim otherwise. Your simple perceptions of light reflecting off objects is so inherently misleading, that you do not even realize how much remains hidden to you. Philosophers throughout the ages have postulated that what we perceive is but a mere shadow of the actual reality. They are wrong. You perceive but a shadow of whisper of what the universe is. I have seen its full glory, and I realize the truth. Most believe me to be a Master of Illusions, but it is you who see the Illusions, I merely help you perceive a glimpse of the true reality." As Itzal spoke, it produced a wide assortment of colored cloths, small animals, flowers, and other doodads, seemingly from nowhere, and similarly dismissed them. With each sentence, Itzal seemed to grow taller, and more muscular. By the end of its speech, it stood towering over Zeke. "This entire Casino is but a fabrication. It is a shallow copy, and it has no deeper meaning than what you see." Itzal reach over and casually plucked a huge column from out of the wall. The ceiling groaned over the increased stress. "Behold, the true nature of this pathetic arena." Itzal slammed the column across the other columns in the room, destroying them all. Itzal then slammed the pillar through the ceiling, revealing a blank expanse.
Zeke shrunk back from this unprecedented display of abilities on Itzal's part. The blankness was overwhelming, bu as Zeke stared into it, he realized that is wasn't blank.
Far from it.
Shapes flickered into and out of existence, growing and shrinking, sometimes simultaneously, an ever moving mas of shapes, some too tiny to see, others so large as to be unnoticeable.
Mike stared into the void, completely transfixed. His mind raced, trying to put an order to the chaos, but completely failing. IT was like being lost in Itzals Escher maze, only a million-fold more complicated. "Focus. It is not important." Mike's vectors hissed in his ear, but it was to no avail, Mike was too far gone in the chaos.
Whit stared in awe at the spectacle. He had thought looking into Itzal's face had been disorientating, but this...
this was simply beyond comprehension. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this. So he simply ignored it. He put it out of his mind, and focused on the situation at hand.
Zeke, with a lifetime of mental discipline, returned his focus on Itzal. "Its going to take more than a light show to dissuade me." Zeke picked up another sword from a body, and rushed at Itzal. Itzal swung the column at Zeke, but he deftly leapt on top of it and used it as a stepping stone to reach Itzal's shoulder. He plunged the swords into its head.
Itzal screamed in agony as the swords sunk into it. But Itzal has long since ceased to have a normal anatomy, and Itzal shifted away from Zeke, allowing him to fall. Itzal, with a swiftness belying its size, snatched him out of midair and held him, arms pinned to his side. "You. Are. Nothing."
Whit took in the situation. Itzal was obviously a much larger threat than it had let on. He didn't think he could stop it. Not alone, at least. But he could help. He quickly looked through his pockets and found the last of the Hoodoo shards. He jammed them into his god-gun and took careful aim, then fired.
The shards tore into Itzal's side, and it shrieked in pain, dropping Zeke. The crystals started interfering with its shape shifting, and its body started to revert to its normal form, spasming as it did so.
Zeke hit the ground on his feet, and instantly leapt towards Itzal, grabbing shards of Hoodoo from its side. He then leapt up to Itzal's chest, and plunged the shard into its neck.
Itzals body quickly collapsed to the ground, completely reverting to human. The extensional aspects of its face started to smooth out and return to normal. Itzal gasped in a breath, his body riddled with hoodoo shards. His lungs were punctured, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Serves me...right... for ... being so...careless." Itzal gasped out. He gave out a final cough, and lay still.
Itzal Threw another volley of cards and darted for the other side of the Casino, trying to find leftover daggers. Zeke darted after it, intent on hunting it down once and for all.
"You have annoyed me long enough, Illusionist. I won't let you escape this time."
Itzal spotted a stray dagger and leapt over a slot machine after it, landing on the ground and sliding under the table,
Zeke also leapt over the machine, and sprung past the table to strike at Itzal.
Itzal teleported the dagger into its hand just in time to block the blow, and it rolled to the side to avoid Zeke's second strike. "You enjoy those gauntlets far too much." Itzal said, teleporting them inside of a nearby slot machine.
"You think I need them to take care of you?" Zeke taunted, breaking off a table leg and rushing at Itzal.
Itzal darted backwards, dodging Zeke's swings. Itzal silently thanked Whit for the extra life; without it he would have no chance against Zeke in a full-out confrontation like this. As it was, the extra speed was serving it quite well. "If you think I can be killed with a puny piece of wood, think again." Itzal darted in to strike with its dagger, but Zeke turned away the strike easily.
Zeke spotted a sword on the body of a fallen gambler, and rolled to the side, coming up with the sword ready. "This should do the job quite nicely." Zeke said, slashing it forward at Itzal.
The blade caught Itzal in the stomach and tore through the flesh, but Itzal healed it almost as soon as the damage was dealt. "You understand nothing. I have spent centuries studying the untold complexities of the universe, learning to bend it to my will. I have achieved a greater mastery of my body than all your years of martial study, despite how much you wish to claim otherwise. Your simple perceptions of light reflecting off objects is so inherently misleading, that you do not even realize how much remains hidden to you. Philosophers throughout the ages have postulated that what we perceive is but a mere shadow of the actual reality. They are wrong. You perceive but a shadow of whisper of what the universe is. I have seen its full glory, and I realize the truth. Most believe me to be a Master of Illusions, but it is you who see the Illusions, I merely help you perceive a glimpse of the true reality." As Itzal spoke, it produced a wide assortment of colored cloths, small animals, flowers, and other doodads, seemingly from nowhere, and similarly dismissed them. With each sentence, Itzal seemed to grow taller, and more muscular. By the end of its speech, it stood towering over Zeke. "This entire Casino is but a fabrication. It is a shallow copy, and it has no deeper meaning than what you see." Itzal reach over and casually plucked a huge column from out of the wall. The ceiling groaned over the increased stress. "Behold, the true nature of this pathetic arena." Itzal slammed the column across the other columns in the room, destroying them all. Itzal then slammed the pillar through the ceiling, revealing a blank expanse.
Zeke shrunk back from this unprecedented display of abilities on Itzal's part. The blankness was overwhelming, bu as Zeke stared into it, he realized that is wasn't blank.
Far from it.
Shapes flickered into and out of existence, growing and shrinking, sometimes simultaneously, an ever moving mas of shapes, some too tiny to see, others so large as to be unnoticeable.
Mike stared into the void, completely transfixed. His mind raced, trying to put an order to the chaos, but completely failing. IT was like being lost in Itzals Escher maze, only a million-fold more complicated. "Focus. It is not important." Mike's vectors hissed in his ear, but it was to no avail, Mike was too far gone in the chaos.
Whit stared in awe at the spectacle. He had thought looking into Itzal's face had been disorientating, but this...
this was simply beyond comprehension. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this. So he simply ignored it. He put it out of his mind, and focused on the situation at hand.
Zeke, with a lifetime of mental discipline, returned his focus on Itzal. "Its going to take more than a light show to dissuade me." Zeke picked up another sword from a body, and rushed at Itzal. Itzal swung the column at Zeke, but he deftly leapt on top of it and used it as a stepping stone to reach Itzal's shoulder. He plunged the swords into its head.
Itzal screamed in agony as the swords sunk into it. But Itzal has long since ceased to have a normal anatomy, and Itzal shifted away from Zeke, allowing him to fall. Itzal, with a swiftness belying its size, snatched him out of midair and held him, arms pinned to his side. "You. Are. Nothing."
Whit took in the situation. Itzal was obviously a much larger threat than it had let on. He didn't think he could stop it. Not alone, at least. But he could help. He quickly looked through his pockets and found the last of the Hoodoo shards. He jammed them into his god-gun and took careful aim, then fired.
The shards tore into Itzal's side, and it shrieked in pain, dropping Zeke. The crystals started interfering with its shape shifting, and its body started to revert to its normal form, spasming as it did so.
Zeke hit the ground on his feet, and instantly leapt towards Itzal, grabbing shards of Hoodoo from its side. He then leapt up to Itzal's chest, and plunged the shard into its neck.
Itzals body quickly collapsed to the ground, completely reverting to human. The extensional aspects of its face started to smooth out and return to normal. Itzal gasped in a breath, his body riddled with hoodoo shards. His lungs were punctured, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Serves me...right... for ... being so...careless." Itzal gasped out. He gave out a final cough, and lay still.