Re: Vendetta [S!2 Round 1 ~ Presidentialgon]
04-30-2012, 09:09 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Yako.
"...The contest."
"I do not-- what?"
"You were at the dinner. I remember you. We're in some sort
of contest together, correct?"
Zenith paused, looking the girl over long and hard. Slowly: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh." I thought you looked familiar, he wanted to say, but his grasp of English failed him and he could instead only offer a toothy dumb smile.
Then a pause; a sudden realization as he remembered the rules. "Wait--" he cursed to all the Vella Kehn deities he could remember. "You'll not kill--"[/color]
"No." She forced her mouth into a brief smile; the creature before her was... odd. Not the least bit menacing, but his dazed mannerisms felt off. As curious as she was about this specimen, she had to stay on her guard.
So instead of stopping for a long chat, she retrieved her hosts' memory of the Presidentialgon's dark secrets and resumed her journey. "If I kill you," she explained as she walked away, "The locale changes. And I need some things here."
Zenith chose to entirely ignore the girl's unwillingness to talk, sprinting to catch up and quickly falling into stride beside Altara. "What kind of things?"
"Secrets."
Well that was rather terse.
"What kind of secrets?"
"Secrets that could help me."
Okay, now she was intentionally being cryptic. The thought did not occur to him, not even for a second, that she may not enjoy his company at the present moment.
"Ah, yeah, that... works." He fell silent as he mulled over how to turn this odd situation to his favor. After running through several scenarios in his head, he picked the direct approach.
"Would any of these secrets be, ah... biological in nature?"
She looked pensive for a moment or two, then gave a little halfhearted shrug. "The possibility hadn't occurred to me, but–"
"We should call a truce!" Altara quirked an eyebrow at him; it was enough incentive to continue. "You want not to kill me, and it is against all ethics for me to kill. So... we could stay together for a while!"
He paused, waiting for her to raise an objection. When none came, he continued. "There are seven others, right? We would not have to die for some time."
Though the girl did not outright accept the proposition, she didn't stop the extraterrestrial from following her. For the time being it was good enough for him.
They walked together until the intercom crackled to life.
"Citizens of the Presidentialgon."
Zenith jumped back a few paces, froze. Altara only slowed, head tilted.
"This is Exida Exis, newly appointed Homeland Forest Defense Administrator."
The pair listened intently as the intercom issued their death warrant.
Everyone wants to kill us. They'll kill us.
Zenith was frozen to the spot; he was only mildly aware of a hand on his arm and the scenery around him changing, his feet bumping along the seams of the flooring.
I can't hide anywhere, I'm not from this planet–
As the intercom went off with a small pop, he attempted to gather his bearings. He soon realized that Altara had been dragging him along during the latter half of the short speech.
She stopped now in front of a door. Without a second thought, she tapped a code into a panel. The door slid open.
"This is where they test all their new weapons," she explained. "I thought there might be some objects of use for us here.
"I call truce."
"...The contest."
"I do not-- what?"
"You were at the dinner. I remember you. We're in some sort
of contest together, correct?"
Zenith paused, looking the girl over long and hard. Slowly: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh." I thought you looked familiar, he wanted to say, but his grasp of English failed him and he could instead only offer a toothy dumb smile.
Then a pause; a sudden realization as he remembered the rules. "Wait--" he cursed to all the Vella Kehn deities he could remember. "You'll not kill--"[/color]
"No." She forced her mouth into a brief smile; the creature before her was... odd. Not the least bit menacing, but his dazed mannerisms felt off. As curious as she was about this specimen, she had to stay on her guard.
So instead of stopping for a long chat, she retrieved her hosts' memory of the Presidentialgon's dark secrets and resumed her journey. "If I kill you," she explained as she walked away, "The locale changes. And I need some things here."
Zenith chose to entirely ignore the girl's unwillingness to talk, sprinting to catch up and quickly falling into stride beside Altara. "What kind of things?"
"Secrets."
Well that was rather terse.
"What kind of secrets?"
"Secrets that could help me."
Okay, now she was intentionally being cryptic. The thought did not occur to him, not even for a second, that she may not enjoy his company at the present moment.
"Ah, yeah, that... works." He fell silent as he mulled over how to turn this odd situation to his favor. After running through several scenarios in his head, he picked the direct approach.
"Would any of these secrets be, ah... biological in nature?"
She looked pensive for a moment or two, then gave a little halfhearted shrug. "The possibility hadn't occurred to me, but–"
"We should call a truce!" Altara quirked an eyebrow at him; it was enough incentive to continue. "You want not to kill me, and it is against all ethics for me to kill. So... we could stay together for a while!"
He paused, waiting for her to raise an objection. When none came, he continued. "There are seven others, right? We would not have to die for some time."
Though the girl did not outright accept the proposition, she didn't stop the extraterrestrial from following her. For the time being it was good enough for him.
They walked together until the intercom crackled to life.
"Citizens of the Presidentialgon."
Zenith jumped back a few paces, froze. Altara only slowed, head tilted.
"This is Exida Exis, newly appointed Homeland Forest Defense Administrator."
The pair listened intently as the intercom issued their death warrant.
Everyone wants to kill us. They'll kill us.
Zenith was frozen to the spot; he was only mildly aware of a hand on his arm and the scenery around him changing, his feet bumping along the seams of the flooring.
I can't hide anywhere, I'm not from this planet–
As the intercom went off with a small pop, he attempted to gather his bearings. He soon realized that Altara had been dragging him along during the latter half of the short speech.
She stopped now in front of a door. Without a second thought, she tapped a code into a panel. The door slid open.
"This is where they test all their new weapons," she explained. "I thought there might be some objects of use for us here.
"I call truce."