Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 1: Training Facility ONX)
08-07-2010, 03:06 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
Sarika's arm felt moist and slimy around his neck. It was a little disconcerting, but as they walked through the maintenance halls, he got used to it. At one point, another maintenance bot sped around the corner and right past them, almost making him trip over himself and causing Sarika to jam her staff on his foot, but they stayed upright. If he had to guess, his fellow contestants were making a mess somewhere.
As he walked, the floor gently sloped upward, closer to the ceiling, a constant indicator that they were going in the right direction. Sarika spent the time craning her neck over his arm to peer behind, thinking silently to herself, huffing every once in a while in a very annoyed way, and generally showing her disapproval at the situation. He supposed she was a little bored now, not used to just waiting and healing. He also couldn't help but think that boring was better than being attacked from behind by a horrible beast-thing.
Apparently the two of them had decided at the same time that they had exhausted any conversation topics that they could bring up. The walk was made in silence. The atmosphere wasn't exactly stifling, more like languid. Nobody had anything to say and didn't have the social consciousness to even bother to say anything. If they had, it would probably be about something needlessly unnecessary, like their workplace or how annoying the younger generation could be. It was easily seen that trying to make conversation anyways would move the atmosphere from relaxed to awkward and nobody wants that.
So nobody said anything until they reached a power-deprived area, the one purple spot on the map they had to cross. Marcus stared into darkness for, what? The tenth time today?
"It's not that bad," Sarika commented, and he had to agree that compared to what they had been walking in before, this darkness was quite pleasant. It didn't come at them like a threatening, impenetrable wall of obscurity. In fact, if he had brought a book, he probably could have read it here, admittedly with some difficulty and some mussing up of certain words. He would be able to see the book at the very least.
Marcus made a vague noise that could have meant anything. "Keep watching the back."
"Aye aye, captain," Sarika replied in a wearied tone. "Ugh, my arm fell asleep," she muttered as Marcus limped through.
This was much easier than before. Even with his limp and Sarika trying to complain subtly in his ear, he felt entirely safe that he would be able to notice any bottomless pits or any weird traps (...in the maintenance tunnels...?) beforehand. He hated that. It made him feel paranoid.
Littered around the area were more little robots, doing something he couldn't really see or care about. They were mostly sticking to the sides, but once in a while, he would have to step over one or move to the side as another moved. He found it odd that none of them had any lights, but then he supposed robots didn't always need them.
Nothing much really changed from before. The two went back to just not talking. Likely one would note that it was getting lighter, but perhaps not.
And behind them, still camouflaging itself and biding its time, the creature lurked.
It was impatient, apprehensive and aggravated all at once. It made it hard to concentrate on staying hidden. The two morsels were slowly getting back Above, where the knowledgeable voice was. And where the knowledgeable voice was, there would be others. If it didn't do something soon, it would miss its meal. Either the others would get them or they would get it if it continued to follow them. But it couldn't act now; its jaw was still smarting from that last failed attack. But it had to act now, but it couldn't but it was so hungry.
Something else was happening that it didn't particularly like. The giant, whose domain they had left long ago, was coming around. Years of living with the giant constantly boring its way around made it able to feel how close it was. And the giant seemed to be getting particularly close.
There was no reason for the giant to come up this small side tunnel. It was sure the giant was not even allowed up here after an earlier mishap, but there was also no reason it wouldn't. It could easily make a bigger tunnel for itself. And if the giant came up here, there was a good chance that more than just the walking dinner up ahead would be eaten.
The creature entered a three-way debate with itself; eat now, no wait, but they'll escape soon, no you need to escape, there are no side tunnels, eat now, but you don't want to get eaten yourself, but...
Sarika's arm felt moist and slimy around his neck. It was a little disconcerting, but as they walked through the maintenance halls, he got used to it. At one point, another maintenance bot sped around the corner and right past them, almost making him trip over himself and causing Sarika to jam her staff on his foot, but they stayed upright. If he had to guess, his fellow contestants were making a mess somewhere.
As he walked, the floor gently sloped upward, closer to the ceiling, a constant indicator that they were going in the right direction. Sarika spent the time craning her neck over his arm to peer behind, thinking silently to herself, huffing every once in a while in a very annoyed way, and generally showing her disapproval at the situation. He supposed she was a little bored now, not used to just waiting and healing. He also couldn't help but think that boring was better than being attacked from behind by a horrible beast-thing.
Apparently the two of them had decided at the same time that they had exhausted any conversation topics that they could bring up. The walk was made in silence. The atmosphere wasn't exactly stifling, more like languid. Nobody had anything to say and didn't have the social consciousness to even bother to say anything. If they had, it would probably be about something needlessly unnecessary, like their workplace or how annoying the younger generation could be. It was easily seen that trying to make conversation anyways would move the atmosphere from relaxed to awkward and nobody wants that.
So nobody said anything until they reached a power-deprived area, the one purple spot on the map they had to cross. Marcus stared into darkness for, what? The tenth time today?
"It's not that bad," Sarika commented, and he had to agree that compared to what they had been walking in before, this darkness was quite pleasant. It didn't come at them like a threatening, impenetrable wall of obscurity. In fact, if he had brought a book, he probably could have read it here, admittedly with some difficulty and some mussing up of certain words. He would be able to see the book at the very least.
Marcus made a vague noise that could have meant anything. "Keep watching the back."
"Aye aye, captain," Sarika replied in a wearied tone. "Ugh, my arm fell asleep," she muttered as Marcus limped through.
This was much easier than before. Even with his limp and Sarika trying to complain subtly in his ear, he felt entirely safe that he would be able to notice any bottomless pits or any weird traps (...in the maintenance tunnels...?) beforehand. He hated that. It made him feel paranoid.
Littered around the area were more little robots, doing something he couldn't really see or care about. They were mostly sticking to the sides, but once in a while, he would have to step over one or move to the side as another moved. He found it odd that none of them had any lights, but then he supposed robots didn't always need them.
Nothing much really changed from before. The two went back to just not talking. Likely one would note that it was getting lighter, but perhaps not.
And behind them, still camouflaging itself and biding its time, the creature lurked.
It was impatient, apprehensive and aggravated all at once. It made it hard to concentrate on staying hidden. The two morsels were slowly getting back Above, where the knowledgeable voice was. And where the knowledgeable voice was, there would be others. If it didn't do something soon, it would miss its meal. Either the others would get them or they would get it if it continued to follow them. But it couldn't act now; its jaw was still smarting from that last failed attack. But it had to act now, but it couldn't but it was so hungry.
Something else was happening that it didn't particularly like. The giant, whose domain they had left long ago, was coming around. Years of living with the giant constantly boring its way around made it able to feel how close it was. And the giant seemed to be getting particularly close.
There was no reason for the giant to come up this small side tunnel. It was sure the giant was not even allowed up here after an earlier mishap, but there was also no reason it wouldn't. It could easily make a bigger tunnel for itself. And if the giant came up here, there was a good chance that more than just the walking dinner up ahead would be eaten.
The creature entered a three-way debate with itself; eat now, no wait, but they'll escape soon, no you need to escape, there are no side tunnels, eat now, but you don't want to get eaten yourself, but...