Re: The Gradual Massacre (GBS2G4) [Round 2: The Museum]
07-20-2010, 05:06 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by whoosh!.
Acacia was huddled on the floor in the middle of a clearing facing an exhibit when Holly found her. The elf moved cautiously closer, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction from the curled up figure before she had to make the first move. It was just… awkward when you didn’t know who it was sitting there. But surely she must have been able to see her? It wasn’t like she was trying to hide -
"Stop," Acacia croaked in her metallic voice. She immediately grasped at a small bunch of black cloth by her right hand, almost protectively. Her whole pose was that of defence, with her knees brought up to her chin as she hugged them. Her gaze remained locked on an exhibit straight ahead.
"Who’s in?"
"Acacia, moron. Aic would be delighted by this."She vaguely waved a hand in front of her as to indicate the scene enacted by the automatons. Standing out from the horror was a thin and bony man with an impressive nose, dressed in the same style of white coat as Acacia. He lacked the intricate collar that she wore but the similarity between the two was undeniable. And, around him, several pitiful excuses of people writhed, covered in boils and harshly disfigured into shapes and forms some of the more twisted among them may have found entertaining.
A moment was taken to let it sink in all over again. The same familiar scene. Not lost, just misplaced. Her voice was quieter when she regained the pluck to speak again.
"The Plags. And that guy in the middle? That’s the General of the Last Sanctum. Lovely guy. He spent hours on his fucking ‘experiments’, swearing every day he was inching closer to curing the poor bastards that just littered the planet. Like trash. Just trash."
"Why are you telling me this? Does the poor little scientist miss her world? What's your problem?"
Acacia spared the elf a scornful look.
"It’s important for you to know. I need to explain just what manner of shit you’re dealing with here with your gamble with Aic." Acacia sighed, clenching her hands as if that would convey her frustration.
"I pity you, Holly," she spat. "You had everything. Everything single thing I somehow managed to lose. Parents. A blissful life. A atmosphere it was safe to breath, for pity’s sake. You’d never realise how much you begin to miss good clean air not breathed in through a mask." She covered her face in her hands and made a small shrieking noise with her boomer.
"But I’m losing the point here. Aic, your little love, belongs right in this museum. Standing right next to that bastard up there. But hey, what do I know? Maybe that sounds like fun to your depraved little mind!
"But don’t tell me you’re right at home in this place. It’ll have got under your skin, at one point or another. That’s just it, I guess. This place is the worst of humanity and everything else in these damn universes. Your personal nightmare is lurking somewhere in here. Waiting. Maybe you’ll never find it. But it’s still there, because it’d be too much of a coincidence if it wasn’t."
There was a short period of quiet.
"Maybe that’s your cure, Holly," she murmured.
Acacia went abruptly silent again. Suddenly, she kicked away from the ground, stretching out into a standing position with surprising alacrity for her previous stillness. She skidded and swirled around to face Holly, her eyes glittering in the dim light. Her left hand held the black cloth, but the right held another object entirely. It’s shining surface winked at the elf.
Holly scrabbled for a book at the sight of the gun, but Acacia just laughed. The shrieking cacophony of a metal hell rang echoed around the exhibits.
"Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you, Holly. Just a few minutes more of my monologue. Trust me."
The tearing of paper and the flash of smoke made it quite obvious that Holly didn’t give a damn about Acacia’s word. Sadly, it only ended in that fantastic and terrible laugh. Head tossed backwards, Acacia was practically screaming out her mirth. Holly merely looked on, stunned.
"Nice one. But trying to calm down a nihilist never does much, I guess. Anyway." Acacia shook out the cloth, revealing the executioner’s hood. A grin was growing on her face that Aic would have been proud of. "You know what’s funny? I always thought it was a little ironic that it was the people killing the condemned who wore these, and then they’d go ahead and hand out virtually the same thing to the person being hanged. So," Acacia yanked the hood down over her head.
The gun clicked in her hand.
Acacia tilted her head, and settled the shining weapon against her skull.
"What is it today?"
Acacia was huddled on the floor in the middle of a clearing facing an exhibit when Holly found her. The elf moved cautiously closer, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction from the curled up figure before she had to make the first move. It was just… awkward when you didn’t know who it was sitting there. But surely she must have been able to see her? It wasn’t like she was trying to hide -
"Stop," Acacia croaked in her metallic voice. She immediately grasped at a small bunch of black cloth by her right hand, almost protectively. Her whole pose was that of defence, with her knees brought up to her chin as she hugged them. Her gaze remained locked on an exhibit straight ahead.
"Who’s in?"
"Acacia, moron. Aic would be delighted by this."She vaguely waved a hand in front of her as to indicate the scene enacted by the automatons. Standing out from the horror was a thin and bony man with an impressive nose, dressed in the same style of white coat as Acacia. He lacked the intricate collar that she wore but the similarity between the two was undeniable. And, around him, several pitiful excuses of people writhed, covered in boils and harshly disfigured into shapes and forms some of the more twisted among them may have found entertaining.
A moment was taken to let it sink in all over again. The same familiar scene. Not lost, just misplaced. Her voice was quieter when she regained the pluck to speak again.
"The Plags. And that guy in the middle? That’s the General of the Last Sanctum. Lovely guy. He spent hours on his fucking ‘experiments’, swearing every day he was inching closer to curing the poor bastards that just littered the planet. Like trash. Just trash."
"Why are you telling me this? Does the poor little scientist miss her world? What's your problem?"
Acacia spared the elf a scornful look.
"It’s important for you to know. I need to explain just what manner of shit you’re dealing with here with your gamble with Aic." Acacia sighed, clenching her hands as if that would convey her frustration.
"I pity you, Holly," she spat. "You had everything. Everything single thing I somehow managed to lose. Parents. A blissful life. A atmosphere it was safe to breath, for pity’s sake. You’d never realise how much you begin to miss good clean air not breathed in through a mask." She covered her face in her hands and made a small shrieking noise with her boomer.
"But I’m losing the point here. Aic, your little love, belongs right in this museum. Standing right next to that bastard up there. But hey, what do I know? Maybe that sounds like fun to your depraved little mind!
"But don’t tell me you’re right at home in this place. It’ll have got under your skin, at one point or another. That’s just it, I guess. This place is the worst of humanity and everything else in these damn universes. Your personal nightmare is lurking somewhere in here. Waiting. Maybe you’ll never find it. But it’s still there, because it’d be too much of a coincidence if it wasn’t."
There was a short period of quiet.
"Maybe that’s your cure, Holly," she murmured.
Acacia went abruptly silent again. Suddenly, she kicked away from the ground, stretching out into a standing position with surprising alacrity for her previous stillness. She skidded and swirled around to face Holly, her eyes glittering in the dim light. Her left hand held the black cloth, but the right held another object entirely. It’s shining surface winked at the elf.
Holly scrabbled for a book at the sight of the gun, but Acacia just laughed. The shrieking cacophony of a metal hell rang echoed around the exhibits.
"Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you, Holly. Just a few minutes more of my monologue. Trust me."
The tearing of paper and the flash of smoke made it quite obvious that Holly didn’t give a damn about Acacia’s word. Sadly, it only ended in that fantastic and terrible laugh. Head tossed backwards, Acacia was practically screaming out her mirth. Holly merely looked on, stunned.
"Nice one. But trying to calm down a nihilist never does much, I guess. Anyway." Acacia shook out the cloth, revealing the executioner’s hood. A grin was growing on her face that Aic would have been proud of. "You know what’s funny? I always thought it was a little ironic that it was the people killing the condemned who wore these, and then they’d go ahead and hand out virtually the same thing to the person being hanged. So," Acacia yanked the hood down over her head.
The gun clicked in her hand.
Acacia tilted her head, and settled the shining weapon against her skull.
"What is it today?"