Re: The Battle Majestic (Round 1 - Bubble Universe)
02-12-2010, 04:45 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Baphomet.
The world tree's trunk, an enmeshed tangle of stretching vines so ingrained in one another as to hardly be called separate masses, reached yearningly for the warmth of the sun. Most trees this large, upon finding that the gravitational field radiated from a singular point, would simply carry on their normal growth pattern and eventually collide with the sides of the station. Of course, this was not most trees. The canopy acknowledged the abnormalities (as did Sen, by proxy) and began to grow into a bowl-like shape, the curvature more pronounced as it approached the light source. Vinelike tendrils extended downward, even with the increasingly varied definition of what exactly "downward" is. Where they made contact with the ground, they bored into it - a new node for root growth.
Sen paced back and forth along a knot in one root, which was pushing itself and the Tender farther from the main trunk. The rush of information with each footfall brought reassurance - minor obstacles, sometimes, a building collapses on a root, a concrete foundation proves unusually stubborn, but -
Suddenly, pain flooded into the Tender's synapses. Fire had struck the tree. Sen knew exactly where the source of the problem was as surely as you or I could locate a pinprick on our own bodies. It leapt from the moving root, loping with furious swiftness over the matted tangle which was quickly replacing the grass and concrete. No, again - not the same problem, but another. The nutrient rich soil had yielded to a hard metallic shell, which provided, once breached, nothing.
Outside the station, a seam between two metallic plates stretched. The fingers peeling it away emerged into the darkness, wriggling as though seeking to grasp something else, but coming up short. Another seam, and another, cracked open, yielding the same results. As if making a sudden decision, the disparate root structures reached for each other and tangled into a wooded mat across the outer shell of the station, but spread no further for the time being.
The Tree prioritized its problems quickly for the Tender, who once again set off along his previous heading.
Alex stood determined against the oncoming wave of woven wood. Behind him, a root had curled innocuously, now smoldering for its trouble. On either side, the tide of roots flowed past, avoiding his position until the threat was neutralized. A shadow fell over him as if a storm were oncoming, but upon looking up, Alex saw that it was the canopy of the trees spreading high above. Seeing the wall on either side growing and coming together behind him, he drew his sword.
He pushed down the growing fear in his gut. I am a warrior, he thought. I am a fighter, and I am fire. Now is not the time for fear. He charged at the wall to his left, slamming the blade of his sword into a root. He leapt up, using it as a springboard to gain some altitude, then he let loose with his flames. The stream of roots and the stream of fire came together into one mighty river, the roots retreating from the heat, those too slow withering into black coal. A cloud of embers swirled into the air like a swarm of startled fireflies escaping into the darkening night, and Alex dropped down through them, wrenching his blade loose from the blackened root as he landed.
Sen crested the mound of roots at the head of the parting around Alex and saw him for the first time, the orange flicker of the flames behind him silhouetting him as he stood from his landing. The Tender bared his needle-like teeth and hissed. Alex narrowed his eyes, raised his blade, and smiled.
As if only to demonstrate the tree's raw deductive ability, the station threw a second gravitational abnormality at it. The upper leaves, upon determining that the heat and light increased dramatically with increased altitude, hastened their upward push -- but now, what was "up" shifted again. The gravitation surrounding the control center was inverted, which is to say, it was facing inwards so as to make the surface of the "sun" traversible. The tree processed this information and dropped vines along the new downward axis. Those that hit the surface of the multiple distinct panels that emitted the light sizzled and quickly retreated, but those that hit the borders and walkways between them began to scratch and grind at the metallic surface, seeking new sources of nutrients.
Vexmagog searched his companions' expressions as they voiced their concerns, his eyes growing more and more sorrowful. I will have to tell them, he realized. Better that I tell them than to have them discover it on their own.
He sighed and held out his arms. "I apologize. I did not realize that these mobile rooms would keep us enclosed for so long. The god that is bound to me has ways of changing things, in ways that it hopes will cause... chaos. The longer I stay in one place, the more dangerous that place becomes, physically and mentally." He sighed. "I am sorry that I did not tell you sooner."
The others just stared. As he often was, John was the first to reply. "So you were about to kill us with a power you didn't say you had."
"It is not a power I have, it is the arm. I cannot control it. And I do not think it would have killed you in the elevator with me. It cannot kill me, or maybe it knows not to, which is likely why the room didn't fall until I left it. That's why I left it last."
"But you still didn't tell us about it." Jacob, oddly, glanced at Blitz as Steven said this, as if trying to gauge his reaction.
Vexmagog looked down. "I am ashamed," he admitted, "both of the power that this has, and the power it has taken from me." He raised his head, his eyes twinkling in the glow of the holographic display. "I was a god. I and six others forged an entire universe out of nothingness, countless animals, plants, and living things you don't even have names for. Land, sea, sky, bodies, souls, my mind was a piece of the blueprint for all of them. And now..." He paused and drew breath audibly, almost wincing at the next words that he spoke. "...Now I am a mortal being, and a danger to those around me. Now I'm forced to play out this absurd contest at the whim of some being whose power I can't even fathom. Now, I'm separated from everyone who ever knew me as my son is challenging my power, to take the mantle of adma poki. Now I try desperately not to fear for my life, because such emotion would make others fear for theirs." He pointed to the right arm. "Because of this. That's why I didn't tell you, and that's why-"
He was interrupted by a terrible sound from the opposite end of the room, like metal scraping against metal. Two of the monitors flickered and went dead. Glancing at the hovering hologram, Vexmagog saw the world tree reaching up to their current position, with two sections of the image representing the outer hull flashing red.
"We don't have time for this," Jacob asserted, running over to the hologram's console. "We need to find what we're looking for and get out of here." Blitz followed and began tapping at the console as well. The display zoomed in on the station. "I think I've got it," he said. Blitz stopped tapping as Jacob continued, and all present took an expectant, anxious step forwards. "This should show us where the escape pods are."
Five red dots blinked, clustered in a line in a small metallic chamber almost directly under the main trunk of the world tree, with a hatch entrance by one of the small fountains dotting the park.
No one spoke. The knowledge of what, exactly, this new piece of data meant to them plowed through their minds like a bulldozer.
As if to break the heavy silence, one side of their room broke inward, yielding to a faintly-glowing root. The light of the hologram and all of the consoles were immediately extinguished, replaced by the light reflecting on the distant ground outside.
Spoiler
Sen paced back and forth along a knot in one root, which was pushing itself and the Tender farther from the main trunk. The rush of information with each footfall brought reassurance - minor obstacles, sometimes, a building collapses on a root, a concrete foundation proves unusually stubborn, but -
Suddenly, pain flooded into the Tender's synapses. Fire had struck the tree. Sen knew exactly where the source of the problem was as surely as you or I could locate a pinprick on our own bodies. It leapt from the moving root, loping with furious swiftness over the matted tangle which was quickly replacing the grass and concrete. No, again - not the same problem, but another. The nutrient rich soil had yielded to a hard metallic shell, which provided, once breached, nothing.
Outside the station, a seam between two metallic plates stretched. The fingers peeling it away emerged into the darkness, wriggling as though seeking to grasp something else, but coming up short. Another seam, and another, cracked open, yielding the same results. As if making a sudden decision, the disparate root structures reached for each other and tangled into a wooded mat across the outer shell of the station, but spread no further for the time being.
The Tree prioritized its problems quickly for the Tender, who once again set off along his previous heading.
Alex stood determined against the oncoming wave of woven wood. Behind him, a root had curled innocuously, now smoldering for its trouble. On either side, the tide of roots flowed past, avoiding his position until the threat was neutralized. A shadow fell over him as if a storm were oncoming, but upon looking up, Alex saw that it was the canopy of the trees spreading high above. Seeing the wall on either side growing and coming together behind him, he drew his sword.
He pushed down the growing fear in his gut. I am a warrior, he thought. I am a fighter, and I am fire. Now is not the time for fear. He charged at the wall to his left, slamming the blade of his sword into a root. He leapt up, using it as a springboard to gain some altitude, then he let loose with his flames. The stream of roots and the stream of fire came together into one mighty river, the roots retreating from the heat, those too slow withering into black coal. A cloud of embers swirled into the air like a swarm of startled fireflies escaping into the darkening night, and Alex dropped down through them, wrenching his blade loose from the blackened root as he landed.
Sen crested the mound of roots at the head of the parting around Alex and saw him for the first time, the orange flicker of the flames behind him silhouetting him as he stood from his landing. The Tender bared his needle-like teeth and hissed. Alex narrowed his eyes, raised his blade, and smiled.
As if only to demonstrate the tree's raw deductive ability, the station threw a second gravitational abnormality at it. The upper leaves, upon determining that the heat and light increased dramatically with increased altitude, hastened their upward push -- but now, what was "up" shifted again. The gravitation surrounding the control center was inverted, which is to say, it was facing inwards so as to make the surface of the "sun" traversible. The tree processed this information and dropped vines along the new downward axis. Those that hit the surface of the multiple distinct panels that emitted the light sizzled and quickly retreated, but those that hit the borders and walkways between them began to scratch and grind at the metallic surface, seeking new sources of nutrients.
Vexmagog searched his companions' expressions as they voiced their concerns, his eyes growing more and more sorrowful. I will have to tell them, he realized. Better that I tell them than to have them discover it on their own.
He sighed and held out his arms. "I apologize. I did not realize that these mobile rooms would keep us enclosed for so long. The god that is bound to me has ways of changing things, in ways that it hopes will cause... chaos. The longer I stay in one place, the more dangerous that place becomes, physically and mentally." He sighed. "I am sorry that I did not tell you sooner."
The others just stared. As he often was, John was the first to reply. "So you were about to kill us with a power you didn't say you had."
"It is not a power I have, it is the arm. I cannot control it. And I do not think it would have killed you in the elevator with me. It cannot kill me, or maybe it knows not to, which is likely why the room didn't fall until I left it. That's why I left it last."
"But you still didn't tell us about it." Jacob, oddly, glanced at Blitz as Steven said this, as if trying to gauge his reaction.
Vexmagog looked down. "I am ashamed," he admitted, "both of the power that this has, and the power it has taken from me." He raised his head, his eyes twinkling in the glow of the holographic display. "I was a god. I and six others forged an entire universe out of nothingness, countless animals, plants, and living things you don't even have names for. Land, sea, sky, bodies, souls, my mind was a piece of the blueprint for all of them. And now..." He paused and drew breath audibly, almost wincing at the next words that he spoke. "...Now I am a mortal being, and a danger to those around me. Now I'm forced to play out this absurd contest at the whim of some being whose power I can't even fathom. Now, I'm separated from everyone who ever knew me as my son is challenging my power, to take the mantle of adma poki. Now I try desperately not to fear for my life, because such emotion would make others fear for theirs." He pointed to the right arm. "Because of this. That's why I didn't tell you, and that's why-"
He was interrupted by a terrible sound from the opposite end of the room, like metal scraping against metal. Two of the monitors flickered and went dead. Glancing at the hovering hologram, Vexmagog saw the world tree reaching up to their current position, with two sections of the image representing the outer hull flashing red.
"We don't have time for this," Jacob asserted, running over to the hologram's console. "We need to find what we're looking for and get out of here." Blitz followed and began tapping at the console as well. The display zoomed in on the station. "I think I've got it," he said. Blitz stopped tapping as Jacob continued, and all present took an expectant, anxious step forwards. "This should show us where the escape pods are."
Five red dots blinked, clustered in a line in a small metallic chamber almost directly under the main trunk of the world tree, with a hatch entrance by one of the small fountains dotting the park.
No one spoke. The knowledge of what, exactly, this new piece of data meant to them plowed through their minds like a bulldozer.
As if to break the heavy silence, one side of their room broke inward, yielding to a faintly-glowing root. The light of the hologram and all of the consoles were immediately extinguished, replaced by the light reflecting on the distant ground outside.