Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 1 - Bubble Universe)
01-15-2010, 08:27 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Not The Author.
-fftch- -fftch- -fftch- -chtnk-
Jacob paused as his sword struck concrete. He'd as yet only seen three of his opponents. Two were already fighting each other across the park; he could probably ignore them safely. No, it was the other five that worried him. They were just... around somewhere, perhaps fighting each other, perhaps trying to get to the 'Sun', perhaps planning ahead and setting traps. One of them, the... green, um... thing... was jumping about on the rooftops, approaching the park. Well, he wouldn't be there when it arrived.
He resumed walking, albeit at a somewhat quicker pace. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his watch and flipped it open. The 'since departure' clock wasn't running - <But of course it isn't. Didn't use the Vortex... Well, it hasn't been that long, anyway.> He depressed one of the small knobs ringing the watch, and the hands resumed their orbit. There were still a couple of things off, but he'd deal with those once he'd had coffee. Snapping the brass disk shut again, he held it to his ear. Sure enough, it was still ticking away quietly, albeit not as one might expect. Smiling, he returned the timepiece to it's rightful place and kept going.
He was struck, then, by the familiar feeling of being followed. Someone else might have turned around, but Jacob figured no one would be there. They usually weren't, either because they were good enough at stalking that he'd not noticed them earlier, or because they were a figment of his imagination. Either way, he realised he should pick up the pace.
Without breaking stride, Jacob envisioned the street ahead drawing together, the buildings seeming to deflate as the space between them shrank. A vertical circle of space just in front of him rippled slightly. The circle was about three meters in diameter, but was stuck about half a meter in the ground. It was practically invisible, except the horizon didn't quite sync up... or wouldn't have, had there been a horizon. The effect was much more pronounced at an angle, as the faces of the buildings seen through the circle weren't those of the ones lining the street around it. Jacob entered (and at once exited) the longest shortest tunnel in the city, a single step the length of a block.
Tunnel vanishing in his wake, he smiled, but his smile faded with the last of his sword's faint magenta hue.
He was going to need that coffee.
-fftch- -fftch- -fftch- -chtnk-
Jacob paused as his sword struck concrete. He'd as yet only seen three of his opponents. Two were already fighting each other across the park; he could probably ignore them safely. No, it was the other five that worried him. They were just... around somewhere, perhaps fighting each other, perhaps trying to get to the 'Sun', perhaps planning ahead and setting traps. One of them, the... green, um... thing... was jumping about on the rooftops, approaching the park. Well, he wouldn't be there when it arrived.
He resumed walking, albeit at a somewhat quicker pace. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his watch and flipped it open. The 'since departure' clock wasn't running - <But of course it isn't. Didn't use the Vortex... Well, it hasn't been that long, anyway.> He depressed one of the small knobs ringing the watch, and the hands resumed their orbit. There were still a couple of things off, but he'd deal with those once he'd had coffee. Snapping the brass disk shut again, he held it to his ear. Sure enough, it was still ticking away quietly, albeit not as one might expect. Smiling, he returned the timepiece to it's rightful place and kept going.
He was struck, then, by the familiar feeling of being followed. Someone else might have turned around, but Jacob figured no one would be there. They usually weren't, either because they were good enough at stalking that he'd not noticed them earlier, or because they were a figment of his imagination. Either way, he realised he should pick up the pace.
Without breaking stride, Jacob envisioned the street ahead drawing together, the buildings seeming to deflate as the space between them shrank. A vertical circle of space just in front of him rippled slightly. The circle was about three meters in diameter, but was stuck about half a meter in the ground. It was practically invisible, except the horizon didn't quite sync up... or wouldn't have, had there been a horizon. The effect was much more pronounced at an angle, as the faces of the buildings seen through the circle weren't those of the ones lining the street around it. Jacob entered (and at once exited) the longest shortest tunnel in the city, a single step the length of a block.
Tunnel vanishing in his wake, he smiled, but his smile faded with the last of his sword's faint magenta hue.
He was going to need that coffee.
Spoiler