Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 1: Training Facility ONX)
08-13-2010, 11:27 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Drakenforge.
So this is reality, huh? Taken from our homes and forced to fight like enslaved gladiators. At least I’m not the only one with fighting experience. That space guy seemed competent at least. Hopefully the other four haven’t encountered something out of their league. She wanted to meet the others. No real reason why, she just did.
Oh, and there was someone even younger than herself, wasn’t there.
There was no way Karen could let a child die here. Not someone with a future, with dreams.
Yes, Karen had neither of those. Her prime was in the game. She had nothing else in her life. She wouldn’t mind dying like this, fighting for survival with her back to the wall. It was how she lived. No, this might be even better. Her life was really on the line. She makes one mistake, and it’s all over. One feels most alive when they’re feeling the pressure and fear of death. And she would go out with a fight, that’s for sure. She didn’t want to win anyway. What was there to go back to? The only person that’d really miss her was… Coal. She wondered what he’d think, probably that she just quit playing. No, Coal wasn’t that quick to doubt his friends. He would wait for her most likely. Wander the world asking for people who knew where she was. Maybe even go so far as to ask a GM to give him the time she last played.
He didn’t know where she lived, and even if he did he was in another country.
Well, he’d move on eventually. Karen wasn’t exactly the most livid person to spend your time with. But there was something in their silence they shared. Well, Karen shared anyway. Coal could talk about anything and everything, and people would listen. Karen never had the same effect on people. She didn’t have much to say, so usually she didn’t bother. She wondered how she will cope in this situation. At least two of the contestants were not speaking in a way that could form a structured conversation. Lloyd was… not the nicest person to be with. At least he seemed motivated.
What to do then. She could probably cut his head off with ease. Just one swing and the round would be over. Of course, the thought of killing a human disturbed her. CHARLIE and Rheudic however… The first would be hard to kill, but the other might yield to her sword and magic combinations. They were machine and monster, right? But still, they lived. They weren’t just bundles of data. No, even killing them would prove difficult to do. Then would she be forced to try to survive the game by not killing any of the contestants? It seemed pretty hypocritical to think that though.
Then what would she do. She could oppose the game entirely. Would that work?
“It's no use worrying about what you can't change.”
But, what could she change then. The rules of her world seemed to still be in effect. All her powers and her strength were still with her. She wondered, was this her real body given power, or had her mind and her avatar become one? There was no real way to test that, unless she returned to her own world.
“You’re right”
Karen stood upright and gazed into Lloyd’s eyes.
“So I’ve decided. I’m going to save you. All of you. My sword and my body shall be as a shield. My life was over before this game began, so do with it as you wish.”
Lloyd stared, dumbstruck. Karen expected as much. She was, in his eyes, probably throwing her life away. What little life she had was more than worth giving for these strangers though. Yes, she was sure Coal would do the same thing after all.
She saw her sword lying beside her end bent over to pick it up. In the metal’s reflection she saw her face, but behind that, something was moving. She looked up to the ceiling to see a large monster clinging to it. It was positioned directly over Lloyd, and was about to detach right on top of him.
“Hold up, you can’t be serio-“
Karen leapt at the same time as the monster fell. They both aimed for the same target: Lloyd. She got there first and shouldered him out of the way as the monster impacted on the floor, swiping at where Lloyd had been. Chubby fingers closed around Karen’s body and sword arm. The monster raised her to its ugly six eyed face. It was like a giant gorilla/insect hybrid. Its grip on her tightened and the pressure on her chest increased.
“Karen!” Lloyd yelled below. The beast was at least seventeen feet tall, so one small man was no threat at all. In fact, it was probably a meal. Her eye caught CHARLIE rotating to look at the creature. Would it attack it? Karen wasn’t helpless however. She could move her left arm. For her, that was more than enough.
“You poor pitiful creature,” She said to its face, “Having to meet someone like me. In my eye, you are nothing more than mid-level trash. So do not cry, this will not hurt for long.”
She outstretched her hand. The monster briefly wondered what she was doing when the fireball connected with its left set of eyes. It howled in pain and released its grip on her. In that instant, Karen swung her sword around, severing several of its fingers in the process. She dropped to the floor below and readied her sword again. Blood seeped out of the hand she had cut and the monster wailed around. Its fingers lay scattered around her. CHARLIE had assessed the situation it seemed, and had backtracked to take on the lumbering beast.
“As I thought, you have no resistance to my magic at all. I shall defeat you, so that we may move on. I have people I need to protect, after all.”
So this is reality, huh? Taken from our homes and forced to fight like enslaved gladiators. At least I’m not the only one with fighting experience. That space guy seemed competent at least. Hopefully the other four haven’t encountered something out of their league. She wanted to meet the others. No real reason why, she just did.
Oh, and there was someone even younger than herself, wasn’t there.
There was no way Karen could let a child die here. Not someone with a future, with dreams.
Yes, Karen had neither of those. Her prime was in the game. She had nothing else in her life. She wouldn’t mind dying like this, fighting for survival with her back to the wall. It was how she lived. No, this might be even better. Her life was really on the line. She makes one mistake, and it’s all over. One feels most alive when they’re feeling the pressure and fear of death. And she would go out with a fight, that’s for sure. She didn’t want to win anyway. What was there to go back to? The only person that’d really miss her was… Coal. She wondered what he’d think, probably that she just quit playing. No, Coal wasn’t that quick to doubt his friends. He would wait for her most likely. Wander the world asking for people who knew where she was. Maybe even go so far as to ask a GM to give him the time she last played.
He didn’t know where she lived, and even if he did he was in another country.
Well, he’d move on eventually. Karen wasn’t exactly the most livid person to spend your time with. But there was something in their silence they shared. Well, Karen shared anyway. Coal could talk about anything and everything, and people would listen. Karen never had the same effect on people. She didn’t have much to say, so usually she didn’t bother. She wondered how she will cope in this situation. At least two of the contestants were not speaking in a way that could form a structured conversation. Lloyd was… not the nicest person to be with. At least he seemed motivated.
What to do then. She could probably cut his head off with ease. Just one swing and the round would be over. Of course, the thought of killing a human disturbed her. CHARLIE and Rheudic however… The first would be hard to kill, but the other might yield to her sword and magic combinations. They were machine and monster, right? But still, they lived. They weren’t just bundles of data. No, even killing them would prove difficult to do. Then would she be forced to try to survive the game by not killing any of the contestants? It seemed pretty hypocritical to think that though.
Then what would she do. She could oppose the game entirely. Would that work?
“It's no use worrying about what you can't change.”
But, what could she change then. The rules of her world seemed to still be in effect. All her powers and her strength were still with her. She wondered, was this her real body given power, or had her mind and her avatar become one? There was no real way to test that, unless she returned to her own world.
“You’re right”
Karen stood upright and gazed into Lloyd’s eyes.
“So I’ve decided. I’m going to save you. All of you. My sword and my body shall be as a shield. My life was over before this game began, so do with it as you wish.”
Lloyd stared, dumbstruck. Karen expected as much. She was, in his eyes, probably throwing her life away. What little life she had was more than worth giving for these strangers though. Yes, she was sure Coal would do the same thing after all.
She saw her sword lying beside her end bent over to pick it up. In the metal’s reflection she saw her face, but behind that, something was moving. She looked up to the ceiling to see a large monster clinging to it. It was positioned directly over Lloyd, and was about to detach right on top of him.
“Hold up, you can’t be serio-“
Karen leapt at the same time as the monster fell. They both aimed for the same target: Lloyd. She got there first and shouldered him out of the way as the monster impacted on the floor, swiping at where Lloyd had been. Chubby fingers closed around Karen’s body and sword arm. The monster raised her to its ugly six eyed face. It was like a giant gorilla/insect hybrid. Its grip on her tightened and the pressure on her chest increased.
“Karen!” Lloyd yelled below. The beast was at least seventeen feet tall, so one small man was no threat at all. In fact, it was probably a meal. Her eye caught CHARLIE rotating to look at the creature. Would it attack it? Karen wasn’t helpless however. She could move her left arm. For her, that was more than enough.
“You poor pitiful creature,” She said to its face, “Having to meet someone like me. In my eye, you are nothing more than mid-level trash. So do not cry, this will not hurt for long.”
She outstretched her hand. The monster briefly wondered what she was doing when the fireball connected with its left set of eyes. It howled in pain and released its grip on her. In that instant, Karen swung her sword around, severing several of its fingers in the process. She dropped to the floor below and readied her sword again. Blood seeped out of the hand she had cut and the monster wailed around. Its fingers lay scattered around her. CHARLIE had assessed the situation it seemed, and had backtracked to take on the lumbering beast.
“As I thought, you have no resistance to my magic at all. I shall defeat you, so that we may move on. I have people I need to protect, after all.”